The District 58 Board of Education held a Regular Meeting on Monday, July 8, 2024 at Belle Aire School. View the agenda. View the meeting video on the District 58 YouTube page.
Public Hearing and Approval: E-Learning Plan
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Liz Ehrhart presented District 58’s proposed 2024-27 E-Learning Plan for a public hearing. She explained that the District’s existing E-Learning Plan expires this year, and Illinois School Code requires school districts to hold a public hearing before adopting a renewed plan. She added that only minor verbiage changes were made, and the renewed plan still follows state guidelines. She emphasized that having an E-Learning Plan will give District 58 flexibility.
“Having an E-Learning Plan in place does not mean we have to use an e-learning day in the case of an emergency. It just means that we have that option available to us,” Ehrhart said. “We believe it’s a good idea for District 58 to continue having access to e-learning, should the need arise, especially now, since we have a tight school year schedule due to referendum construction.”
As before, District 58 would only use an e-learning day in the case of an emergency, such as inclement weather. E-learning days would be communicated with families and staff in a timely manner.
No comments were made during the public hearing. Later in the meeting, the Board approved the 2024-27 E-Learning Plan.
Read a message from Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell regarding the E-Learning Plan renewal.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Russell provided several departmental updates, including:
- Personnel: District 58 is nearly finished hiring certified staff members, and will welcome 20 new certified staff this fall. The District is continuing to actively recruit instructional assistants.
- Curriculum and Instruction: Summer learning sessions are going well. Curriculum materials are arriving and being distributed to schools. The District is preparing for the beginning of the school year, including New Teacher Week and the Opening Teacher Institute Days.
- Finance: The 2023-24 fiscal year ended June 30, and the District’s auditors began their work on the annual audit.
- Technology: Elementary iPads are ready and seventh grade Chromebooks will be delivered this week. Cable installation for phase 1 of referendum construction is going well and on schedule.
- Special Services: The Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club recently donated $12,573 to District 58. This donation will be used to purchase resources to help students develop self-regulation skills. District 58 sincerely thanks the Downers Grove Roadrunners for their continued generosity and support of District 58.
- Facilities: Construction continues to progress nicely at all school locations. For example, significant exterior addition work at the middle schools continues to occur, as seen today with the placement of the O’Neill gymnasium and storm shelter precast concrete panels.
- Community Relations: The District welcomed Megan Hewitt back to her role as community relations coordinator after taking a maternity leave.
Business Report
Assistant Superintendent for Business Todd Drafall reported that the District wrapped up the 2023-24 fiscal year, and the year-to-date report based on cash will be available after the District finishes balancing its books for the year. This report will not include revenue from some grants; those funds will be sent once the District submits reports to the State next week.
During the Meeting, the Board Also:
- Approved minutes from the June 10 Regular Meeting and Closed Session.
- Approved all items in the regular consent agenda, including the approval of Elizabeth McDonald as the assistant principal of Herrick Middle School. Learn more.
- Approved a $12,573 donation from the Roadrunners Soccer Club to support the needs of students who struggle with regulation and calming through the provision of sensory tools and classroom calming corners.
- Designated a five-drawer lateral file cabinet and two mini mag floor machines as surplus, so they can be sold at auction.
- Adopted a resolution for the dismissal of a custodial maintenance employee for reasons other than reduction-in-force.
- Approved a bid for Hillcrest and Henry Puffer’s post-construction move-in services to Rightsize Facility for $35,782.50.
- Approved bids for mechanical and electrical equipment for Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Lester schools. These are the elementary schools scheduled for phase 2 construction, and the equipment will be installed in summer 2025. The bid process is taking place early to ensure all equipment is delivered in time for next summer’s work. The mechanical equipment bid was awarded to Thermosystems, and the electrical equipment bid was awarded to Arc1 Electric. The combined total for these bids is $1,294,686, which is under budget.
- Approved the installation of 39 projectors for Herrick and O’Neill over two years (school years 2024-25 and 2025-26) for $81,617.
- Approved a bid for playground mulch to Langton Group for $35,700.
To view documents related to the above actions, please view the meeting agenda.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, July 29 at 5 p.m.: Special Board Meeting at Belle Aire School
- Monday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m.: Regular Board Meeting at TBD
District 58 Board of Education members are: Darren Hughes, president; Gregory Harris, vice president; Kirat Doshi, Melissa Ellis, Emily Hanus, Steven Olczyk and Tracy Weiner, with Dr. Kevin Russell, superintendent; and Melissa Jerves, board secretary.