Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Board of Education met April 24.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Board of Education of Community Unit School District 308, Kendall, Kane and Will Counties, Illinois, met in a regular session in the Community Room at Oswego East High School.
Note for file: All roll call votes are shown in alphabetical order in these minutes; however, during the Board Meeting votes are called out in accordance with Board Policy 2:220
1. Call to Order – Executive Session (6:15 p.m.)
The meeting was called to order at 6:18 p.m. by President LaTonya Simelton
1.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present:
Dominick Cirone, Eugene Gatewood, Jared Ploger, LaTonya Simelton, Alison Swanson
Members Absent (at roll call):
Lauri Doyle, Jennifer Johnson
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 certain employees and individuals; 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; 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06
A motion was made by Mr. Eugene Gatewood, second by Mr. Jared Ploger, to enter Closed Session under statute(s); 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of certain employees and individuals; 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; 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 5-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
The Board of Education entered closed session at 6:19 p.m.
2.2 Return to Open Session
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Jared Ploger, to return to Open session
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
The Board of Education returned to open session at 7:30 p.m.
3. Call to Order – Public Session (7:15 pm)
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. by President LaTonya Simelton
3.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present:
Dominick Cirone, Lauri Doyle, Eugene Gatewood, Jennifer Johnson,
Jared Ploger, LaTonya Simelton, Alison Swanson
Members Absent (at roll call):
None
Administration Present:
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. John Sparlin
Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, Faith Dahlquist
Assistant Superintendent for Student & Staff Services, Dr. Heather Kincaid
Assistant Superintendent for Operations, Dr. John Petzke
Director of Communications, Theresa Komitas
Others Present:
Attorney Maureen Lemon, Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg and Castaldo, as well as employees of the District and members of the community.
Recording Secretary:
Ursula Studer
3.2 Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Board President LaTonya Simelton
4. Recognitions
4.1 PRIDE Recognition
The Board members recognized the following staff for PRIDE this evening: Teachers
Kim Caston - 2nd Grade teacher at Wolf's Crossing Elementary School
Lori Johnson - Special Education Teacher at Bednarcik Junior High School Paul Kittler - Special Education Teacher at Oswego East High School
John Tamez - AVID Teacher at Plank Junior High School
Employees
Lois Goulet Federau - Attendance Secretary at Oswego East High School
Georgi Hadsall - Attendance Secretary at Oswego East High School
5. Public Comment
5.1 Opportunity for the Public to address the Board of Education
Lilian Driscoll – a parent in our District for 18 years, with her youngest two children currently enrolled in Dual Language. Ms. Driscoll commented that it has been a struggle to push for the DL program to be more equitable. She shared that the full time reading support is going to be shared by two schools in the fall, Hunt Club and Boulder Hill. This plan is not right for our students and needs to be reconsidered.
Wayne Harshberger – commented regarding the Special Education Program. There were bullying issues in 8th grade and his daughter suffers from issues that require a 504 Plan. Mr. Harshberger felt that there was a push by the District to do a full IEP Evaluation. The form was not filled out correctly and after the evaluation only partial information was provided and the error was fixed. This could have been a complaint to the State, but I’m bringing my concerns here instead so the team can reflect and make some improvements.
6. Presentations
6.1 Professional Development Presentation
Presented by Associate Superintendent Faith Dahlquist. Three year plan aligned with Climate for Learning Framework. Nearly 2,000 classrooms were visited this year, each building received feedback twice a year aligned to the SD308 Climate for Learning Framework. These visits were used to assess the success of our current professional development. All schools now have explicit instruction and expectations for behavior. The District Behavior Design team expanded conversations and working to create a vision for restorative practices at the building level within the classroom and establish a vision and practice around analyzing district and building wide data. SEL Integration with Academics, next year there will be professional development created to support staff integrating SEL into daily instruction. Indicators of success that will be reported on at next year’s annual report:
Three year plan aligned with next steps needed for improvements in curriculum and instruction as identified by student achievement data and classroom walkthrough data, and aligned with needs identified in staff and student surveys.
7. Comments/Reports
7.1 Superintendent Report
Congratulations to OHS Panther Writers who took home 14 total awards at Southwest Suburban Prairie Conference Literary Festival. They won the most awards at the event.
April is Autism Awareness Month- use this time to deepen understanding and acceptance, celebrating differences.
National Encourage a Young Writer Event at Boulder Hill- two published student authors held a signing event at the school.
Gear It Forward 2338 Robotics- competed in the finals at the World Championships in Houston Annual Student- led Amplify event will be held on May 1, this event celebrates equity and diversity across the district.
7.2 Student Ambassador Report
Student survey was released last week. Over 2,200 students have already responded. More free response questions were included for students to share their opinion. Of the responses shared so far, data is showing several areas of potential work to be done, the replies will be shared at the next committee meeting.
7.3 Board Committee Reports
Board Committee Reports – Policy and Legislative and Teaching and Learning 7.4 Board Member Comments
Mrs. Simelton- acknowledged the work of the policy committee, including the two board members Ms. Johnson and Ms. Swanson, along with the administrators who were part of this work. There were many long meetings, with many hours to review each policy in order to add these revised/reviewed policies to the new software PRESS Plus.
Ms. Johnson- Closing out the first full year following the struggles of the pandemic. Teacher appreciation is coming soon, encouraged parents and students to share their gratitude as they push through the final weeks of school.
Student Ambassador, and soon-to-be OHS graduate Kaitlyn Jobes shared her graduation speech about her school experiences, from her blue sparkly backpack on her very first day of school to now, with a larger, heavier backpack. The weight of backpacks hold books, papers and tools, but also resilience, challenges and more. The full writing can be heard on the recording.
Mr. Ploger acknowledged the final full meeting with exiting board members Ms. Swanson and Ms. Doyle, thanking them for their service, time and commitment.
8. Approval of Consent Agenda
8.1 Approval of Minutes from previous Meeting
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Dominick Cirone, to approve all items under consent, including Minutes from the Board of Education meeting on April 11, 2023, open and closed session and to acknowledge the FOIA requests received by the district
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
9. Information
9.1 Consolidated District Plan
The information was shared by Associate Superintendent Faith Dahlquist. Annual requirement of the state to submit the plan. Filing the Consolidated District Plan is the first step in applying for federal grants of Title I Basic, Title II Professional Development, Title III Language Instruction, Title IV Student Support, IDEA Flow Through Special Education, and IDEA Pre School. The plan includes a needs assessment, inclusion of stakeholders, and alignment of the goals of the district with the state. The plan also includes a number of assurances and coordination outline for foster programs.
Board comments included a desire to work more closely on legislative action/coordination (examining if there could be a need to split the policy and legislative committee). Potential dashboard online of grants applied for, including those received and those not received.
9.2 Draft PRESS Policy Manual
The Board of Education Policy Committee participated in a full review of the Oswego Community Unit School District 308 policy manual in conjunction with the guidance of the Illinois Association of School Board (IASB) Policy Services. Throughout the process, the committee compared each policy in relation
to the current PRESS policies. The committee has made recommendations for updates to the policy manual. In addition to the policy review, work has begun on the review and creation of aligned Exhibits and Administrative Procedures.
The Board of Education will be reviewing the policy changes. Mr. Ploger requested to keep Policy 4:25 (Use of Illinois County School Facility Occupation Tax Receipts). The Board discussed the process and timing for the passing of the revised manual. Section 7 (Students) requires board approval on May 8th in order for functions to move forward for next school year. The remaining policies will be approved over time once the new board members are seated.
10. Action Items
10.1 Approval of Transportation Bid
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Dominick Cirone, to award the Regular Education contract to Durham School Services and the Special Education contract to Septran Student Transportation
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
10.2 Approval of Student Rights and Responsibilities Section in Student Handbook
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Jared Ploger, to approve the 2023- 24 Students Rights and Responsibilities Section in the Student Handbook as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
10.3 Approval of Destruction of the Audio Recordings of the Closed Session Meetings from April 26, 2021 through October 12, 2021
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Dominick Cirone, to approve the Destruction of the Audio Recordings of the Closed Session Meetings from April 26, 2021 through October 12, 2021
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 6-1
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
Nay: Mr. Jared Ploger
10.4 Approval of the Release of those Closed Session Minutes which no longer require confidential treatment and will be made available for public inspection, and retain as confidential those Closed Session minutes for which the need for confidentiality still exists
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Dominick Cirone, to approve the Release of those Closed Session Minutes which no longer require confidential treatment and will be made available for public inspection, and retain as confidential those Closed Session minutes for which the need for confidentiality still exists
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 6-1
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
Nay: Mr. Jared Ploger
10.5 Approval of District Administrator Contract
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Eugene Gatewood, to approve the District Administrator contract as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 5-1-1
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood,
Mr. Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton,
Nay: Ms. Alison Swanson
Abstain: Ms. Jennifer Johnson
10.6 Approval of Personnel Report
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Jared Ploger, to approve the Personnel report as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 6-1
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton,
Nay: Ms. Alison Swanson
11. Adjournment
11.1 Adjourn
A motion was made by Ms. Jennifer Johnson, second by Mr. Jared Ploger, to adjourn.
All were in favor unanimously to adjourn.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Dominick Cirone, Ms. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Eugene Gatewood, Ms. Jennifer Johnson, Mr. Jared Ploger, Ms. LaTonya Simelton, Ms. Alison Swanson
Meeting Adjourned at 8:49 p.m.
https://go.boarddocs.com/il/oswego308/Board.nsf/files/CRGTKA77B4F2/$file/04.24.23%20Draft%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf
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