The District 58 Board of Education held a Regular Meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024 at Belle Aire School. View the agenda. View the meeting video on the District 58 YouTube page.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell provided several departmental updates, including:
Personnel: School offices are processing new student registrations; a full districtwide enrollment report will be presented at the September Board meeting. As of Aug. 12, District 58 has one open certified position and several open instructional assistant positions. To cover these open positions, District 58 will start the year with a combination of substitutes and temporary reorganization/reallocation of existing staff. “We are grateful for the flexibility of our staff as we continue to navigate the current labor market, knowing that we are in a similar situation as many surrounding school districts,” said Dr. Russell.
Curriculum and Instruction: District 58 welcomed 17 new teachers during New Teacher Week. The vast majority of materials have been organized and delivered to schools, thanks to the tremendous efforts of curriculum secretaries, the summer support staff, custodians and curriculum coordinators.
Technology: Final technology preparations for the upcoming school year are on track. As of Aug. 12, in Phase I schools, most network equipment has been brought back online. The District is working with its construction vendors on its new access control and paging systems in its newly-renovated schools.
Special Services: Extended School Year for eligible students with special needs has wrapped up. Data shows that program participants maintained their skills in more than 89% of identified goal areas, a great achievement.
Community Relations: The 2024 District 58 Annual Report has been finalized and will arrive in resident mailboxes next week. The District also updated its family handbooks (English and Spanish) to align with recent policy changes and added an addendum with a list of revisions. In other news, the Education Foundation sponsored the New Teacher Luncheon, as well as the Sneak Preview program for incoming seventh graders. The Foundation looks forward to hosting its Oktoberfest fundraiser next month in downtown Downers Grove. Details are available at 58foundation.org.
Business Report
Assistant Superintendent for Business Todd Drafall reported that the District’s tentative 2024-25 budget has been posted online, and the Board will be asked to vote to approve it in September. Drafall shared an overview of expected 2024-25 budget revenues and expenditures, noting, in particular, how homeless transportation costs have increased exponentially over the past four years, and it is unknown whether this trend will continue. Drafall also noted that the tentative budget is balanced, with more revenues than expenditures. However, it is under the Board’s 35% fund balance threshold. The Board has a 35% fund balance policy to ensure the District has a rainy day fund and avoids the need to issue tax anticipation warrants during low cash-on-hand periods. District 58 plans to continue working on the budget and will aim to present a final budget for approval at the September meeting that meets the Board’s 35% fund balance policy. View the presentation. View the tentative 2024-25 budget.
Referendum Construction Discussion
Team representatives from District 58’s Construction Manager Bulley & Andrews, Architect Wight & Company, and Owner's Representative Huffman & Keel led a discussion on the District’s referendum projects. As previously shared, District 58’s referendum construction will span three years, 2024-2026, with work taking place on the following schedule:
- Phase I Construction/Summer of 2024: Henry Puffer, Highland, Hillcrest and Whittier
- Phase II Construction/Summer of 2025: Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Lester
- Phase III Construction/Summer of 2026: Belle Aire, El Sierra and Pierce Downer
- Herrick and O’Neill Middle Schools will be under construction during all three phases.
The team shared that Phase I elementary schools and the middle schools are wrapping up their planned summer 2024 work on schedule, and the Phase I budget has approximately $500,000 remaining in its construction contingency. In addition, planning is in progress for Phase II schools, with one of two bid packages already approved. The remaining Phase II bidding will take place this fall, an optimal time that will hopefully result in cost savings.
As is typical with large construction projects, District 58’s initial project budget included funding for contingencies. In addition to the construction contingency mentioned above, District 58 also has an owner’s contingency, which has not been required for non-elective items to date and currently has $8.1 million.
Last June, the Board heard a report on unsuitable soil conditions at Herrick. The mitigation work required the removal of poor soil and the addition of new stone and geotextiles. The team recommended that District 58 allocate $417,189 from its owner’s contingency for the Herrick soil enhancement solution. Later in the meeting, the Board approved this recommendation.
The team also recommended that the District add serveries infrastructure into its Phase II bid packages for this fall. This infrastructure would allow these schools to serve meals onsite for students in the future. Completing this work at the same time as other Phase II construction projects would provide efficiencies and cost savings. Depending on how the bids come in, this added work may fit into the existing budget. If the bids exceed the original budget, the District may wish to consider using some owner’s contingency funding to cover the difference.
The team also presented the proposed costs for installing Phase II serveries equipment, as well as Phases I and III infrastructure and equipment, which could be considered in the future, if future bids are on budget, and the contingencies continue to go unused.
During the Meeting, the Board Also:
- Approved a recommendation to set 2024-25 meal pricing at $4.60 per lunch and $53 for a full year of elementary milk.
- Approved policy changes as recommended by the Illinois Association of School Board’s PRESS Issues 115 and 116.
- Approved serious safety hazard designations for 2024-25. This allows students who reside within these designated areas to be eligible for fee-based bus transportation services, despite living within the 1.5 mile limit. The proposed designations are unchanged from last year.
To view documents related to the above actions, please view the meeting agenda.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., Regular Board Meeting, at the Downers Grove Civic Center
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.