Board Briefs: March 2019

  • Posted March 15, 2019

The District 58 Board of Education held a regular business meeting on Monday, March 11, 2019. View the agenda and presentation links. Meeting audio and video will be posted here.

Highlights from the meeting include:

Spotlight on our Schools: Strategic Plan Goal Update

Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli and District 58 administrators Justin Sisul, Dr. Jayne Yudzentis and Todd Drafall shared progress updates related to the Strategic Plan’s three goals: Focusing on Learning, Connecting the Community and Securing the Future. Community Relations Coordinator Megan Hewitt demonstrated how community members can access the Strategic Plan dashboard and the Strategic Plan Vision 58 homepage, which contains a wealth of information about the Strategic Plan, including details regarding each Strategic Plan working group.

Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli shared updates and information on several topics:

  • Grade K-6 teachers and middle school science teachers spent the March 1 Institute Day deepening their understanding of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and learning about the new science resources that will be implemented next school year.
  • 2019-20 returning student registration will open Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Parents are encouraged to log in to complete the registration process as soon as possible. Fees may be paid in conjunction with registration, but are not required in order to submit the enrollment forms.  
  • Kindergarten Roundups begin this month;
  • Annually, school districts are required to honorably dismiss some teachers and staff for the following school year, pending actual student registration submissions. As in years’ past, as soon as District 58 opens its 2019-20 enrollment process and can verify its enrollment needs for next school year, the District will call back these important employees. Thus, the completion of student registration for the upcoming school year is critical to district planning and staffing decisions.
  • The Policy Committee has reviewed and will recommend some changes to the District’s student transfer policy.
  • The revised 2018-19 calendar scheduled eighth grade promotion for Monday, June 10, so the Regular June Board Meeting must be rescheduled. After consulting schedules, the June Board Meeting will be rescheduled to Wednesday, June 5.
  • Several events are coming up, including the District 58 Festival of Music (March 13), Legislative Breakfast (March 15) and The Reading Games (March 16). Summer School and Extended School Year registration is open and will close April 12.

Business Report

Assistant Superintendent for Business Todd Drafall reported that District 58’s revenues and expenditures are on budget. This month’s Business Report contains a new sheet that shows how much state revenue we should receive, how much state revenue we have actually received, and how this year’s state revenue receipts compare to the previous year.

View the Business Report.

Committee Reports

Board Member Greg Harris reported on the Feb. 19 Policy Committee meeting. The committee continued its work aligning District 58’s Board Policy Manual with the Illinois Association of School Boards’ (IASB) model policy guide and recommended the revision of two policies and the deletion of one policy, which the committee deemed duplicative.

Of note, one of the recommended revised policies, Policy 5103, would change the District’s student transfer policy. After consulting the IASB model policy guide and discussing the topic with building administrators, the Policy Committee recommends that Policy 5103 be revised to remove grade level enrollment guidelines and instead insert “under extraordinary circumstances” as the guideline for granting transfers. The other recommended revision is that new transferees must have their enrollment reconsidered annually. These recommendations, if approved, will begin next school year. Students transferred before the policy revision may continue to follow the former policy.

The Board approved the first reading of the policies and will place them on the April agenda for final approval.

Member Kirat Doshi reported on the Feb. 27 Legislative Committee meeting. The committee discussed question topics and the format of the March 15 Legislative Breakfast. Doshi reported that Sen. John Curran, Sen. Suzy Glowiak, Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, Rep. Terra Costa Howard and Hilary Denk, district director to U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, all confirmed their attendance at the event.

Member John Miller reported on the March 8 Financial Advisory Committee meeting. The committee reviewed the March Business Report and discussed employee health care.

Vice President Elizabeth Sigale reported on the Feb. 25 District Leadership Team meeting. The committee reviewed the District’s quarterly Strategic Plan update. She thanked everyone who has worked on the Strategic Plan, adding that the update shows how much work is going on to improve our school district.

Board Meeting Video Recording Discussion

The Board partnered with the Village of Downers Grove in January 2019 to begin video recording its meetings on a trial basis. The Board reviewed and discussed viewership analytics and recommended that Board meetings should continue to be video recorded and shared publicly.

Revised 2018-19 Calendar Approval

The Board approved the revised 2018-19 school calendar. Provided no additional emergency days are needed, the last day of student attendance this school year will be Tuesday, June 11, 2019. June 11 will be a half day of student attendance. The middle school promotion ceremony will be held Monday, June 10.

View the revised 2018-19 school calendar.

2019-20 Calendar Approval

The Downers Grove Grade School District 58 Board of Education approved the 2019-2020 school calendar during a business meeting last night. The 2019-20 calendar includes:

  • First Day of Student Attendance: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019
  • Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 25-29, 2019
  • Winter Break: Dec. 23, 2019-Jan. 3, 2020
  • Spring Break: March 30-April 3, 2020

In addition, the 2019-20 calendar includes a 2 p.m. early dismissal on Mondays to provide teachers with 1.5 hours of weekly professional development time. This dedicated time will help teachers improve their instructional practice to better provide students with high-quality learning experiences. District 58 will publish a series of FAQ sheets in the coming weeks with more information about the District’s new professional learning model, the research behind this model, the specific learning opportunities for staff, and the ways District 58 intends to support the community through this transition.

Hillcrest Spotlight

The Hillcrest Student Council, PTA, Principal Michelle Rzepka and Assistant Principal Lauri Cole shared school news, including their service projects, enrichment activities, fundraisers, all-school meetings, monthly school character traits and more.

During the Meeting, the Board Also:

  • Held an Evening Coffee with the Board community event, immediately prior to the meeting.
  • Held a public hearing on the proposal to conduct school activities on Casimir Pulaski Day, Lincoln’s Birthday and Veterans Day in 2020.
  • Recognized students who participated in the ILMEA Elementary All-State Chorus Festival, Band Solo Day and the Orchestra Solo and Ensemble Festival.
  • Accepted a donation of $1,320 from Ken Lerner of Pierce Downer’s Heritage Alliance in support of the Little Sprouts program at Lyman Woods.
  • Received comments from eight visitors, all parents, primarily regarding the new professional learning model – some in support and others opposed.
  • Approved minutes from the Feb. 11 Regular Meeting, the Feb. 19 Board Tour/Puffer-Hefty PTA Meeting, the Feb. 25 Curriculum Workshop, and the March 5 Special Meeting/Superintendent Search Workshop.
  • Approved all items presented in the Consent Agenda as presented in the agenda materials.
  • Adopted resolutions to honorably dismiss 29 teachers and 27 educational support personnel employees, as well as to dismiss 17 part-time educational support personnel employees. Annually, positions are reduced pending enrollment and staffing plans for the upcoming year.
  • Adopted the revised Board Agreements.
  • Approved a proposal to hire Wight & Co. for master facility planning work, as outlined in the Strategic Plan, for $70,000. View memo.
  • Transferred $7 million from the Working Cash Fund to the Education Fund to support the District’s cash flow needs; this loan will be repaid after spring property tax receipts arrive.
  • Approved a contract amendment with First Student bus company for 2019-20 to increase driver rates 4.5 percent and approve updated transportation rates.
  • Approved a 36-month WAN contract with AT&T for a monthly recurring cost of $10,939.50 and a total cost of $393,822. Memo.
  • Approved a 24-month managed Internet service contract with AT&T for a monthly recurring cost of $1,661.80 and a total cost of $39,883.20. Memo.

Upcoming Events:

  • Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m.: Superintendent Interviews (Closed Session) at Parkers’ Restaurant
  • Sunday, March 17 at 12 p.m.: Superintendent Search Meeting (Closed Session) at the ASC
  • Tuesday, March 19 at 7 a.m.: Policy Committee Meeting at the ASC
  • Wednesday, March 20 at 6 p.m.: PTA Presidents/Administration Meeting at Herrick
  • Tuesday, April 2: Election Day
  • Monday, April 8 at 7 p.m.: Regular Board Meeting at Downers Grove Village Hall

District 58 Board of Education members are: Doug Purcell, president; Elizabeth Sigale, vice president; Kirat Doshi, Greg Harris, Darren Hughes, John Miller and Jill Samonte, with Dr. Kari Cremascoli, superintendent; and Melissa Jerves, board secretary.