November 6, 2014 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Description:  November 15, 2014 has been designated as "School Board Members Day" and I would like to publicly recognize the service that members of the Center Cass School District 66 Board of Education provide to our learning community on an ongoing basis.

In Center Cass, our school board members are entrusted with the guardianship and wise expenditure of tax dollars, and they are responsible for maintaining and preserving the buildings, grounds, and other areas of the school district that the community has put in their trust. Our Board Members are responsible for providing the leadership necessary to ensure that a clear, shared vision of public education exists for our schools.  This vision includes high standards for the education of all students, while requiring the effective and efficient operation of the district.

Center Cass School Board Members adopt public policy to give voice to that leadership and employ a superintendent to administer board policy, and are also responsible for the regular monitoring of the district's performance and compliance with state policy. They selflessly donate countless hours to public service with no compensation in order to advocate for quality educational opportunities for our students and to ensure advocacy and necessary education for board members themselves.

The decisions made by our school board members directly impact the quality of life in the communities of Downers Grove, Darien, and Woodridge, This places our board members at the front line of American democracy.

The Board of Education deserves special recognition for the Strategic Planning process they conducted over the past 12 months.  While this has required a significant amount of additional time and effort on the part of each Board member, their focus on long-range planning and engaging the community in meaningful ways is a shining example of the way elected officials should seek out the voices of the citizens that they represent in order to best serve our students.

Please join me in recognizing the Center Cass School District 66 Board of Education in celebration of "School Board Members Day" as a way to honor these citizens who devote so much of their time and energy for the education of our children.

Description:  We are proud of the cooperative relationships we have with a number of governmental entities in the area.  Attached is a letter that highlights one recent cooperative activity with Maerker School District #60.

Description:  We are very proud of the efforts of the Elizabeth Ide staff for hosting their fist Literacy Night on Oct. 7, 2014.  Mr. Lazar, Principal, will share details with the Board at the meeting.

Description:  PMA will provide the Board with the annual financial projections and entertain questions.  The base model of the projections is attached and additional scenarios related to the pension cost shift and SB 16 will be shared at the meeting.

Description:  The notes from this past month's SASED Board of Control meeting are attached.

Description:  Attached are the Financial Reports for your review.

Description:  Resignations
Erin Ryan - Lunch Room Aide - Ide

Retirement
None

Transfers None

New Hires None

Re-Employment
None

Positions Open:
Lunch Room Aide
Teaching Assistant
Substitute Teachers

Description:  As per Policy 2:220, after 18-months have passed since being made, the audio recording of a closed meeting is destroyed with Board approval.  Approval is requested to destroy recording of April 9, 2013 closed session minutes.

Description:  Recommendation:  The Superintendent recommends that Consent Agenda Items A, B, C, and D be approved.

Description:  This is an opportunity for individual Board members to update the entire Board on any pertinent committee activities.  The Finance Committee is the only committee that has met since the last Board meeting.

Description:  As a follow up to last year's discussion related to the annual approval of new bus leases, the administration has prepared a bid document for the buses that are due to be leased beginning with the 2015-16 school year. 

Pending the Board's approval, the bids will be distributed and we anticipate new bus leases being brought back to the December Board meeting for the Board's consideration.

Recommendation: The Superintendent recommends that the Board of Education approve the bus bid documents as presented.

Description:  A copy of the tentative 2014 Tax Levy is included in this board book.  This levy represents a 4.95% increase, which would enable the District to secure a portion of the necessary funds for meeting the future educational and facility needs of the district.  

We understand that the actual amount received through this levy will be limited to CPI and new growth and therefore,  we do not believe that we will receive the full 4.95% as needed.  However, we need to request 4.95% in order to accommodate for any unexpected new growth.  According to the DuPage County Assessor, our new growth for the 2014 levy should be approximately $5,919, 730.

Based on a projected EAV of $455,000,000 and new growth of $5,919,730 for the 2014 levy, it is not recommended to request a levy in excess of the 5% cap.   This is because additional levied funds would not be "left on the table" until we reached a point of nearly $15,000,000 in new growth, even if the actual EAV fluctuated significantly. 

A tentative levy of 4.95% is below the 5% limit and does not require a Truth in Taxation hearing in December.  A final levy, which should be similar to the tentative levy, will be brought back to the Board for approval on December 11, 2014.

Recommendation: The Superintendent recommends that the Board of Education approve the tentative 2014 Tax Levy as presented.

Description:  Attached is a draft resolution related to Senate Bill 16 for the Board's consideration and possible adoption at either the November or December Board meeting.  The Board may wish to modify this document or not adopt at all.

Description:  None anticipated

Description:  At our last meeting, Mr. Blazevich recommended the potential benefit of having designated "Board Committee Chairs" to help facilitate the committee process.  Mr. Blazevich will provide some guidelines.

Description:  The board is invited to discuss the presentation made by Dr. Michael Volpe and suggest follow up questions.

Description:  A Conference Preview is available that outlines the entire schedule of activities. The Preview includes dates, times, titles, and descriptions of all courses and panel sessions, workshops, and special events such as the board secretaries' training. The Preview is on the IASB public website  
http://iasb.mys1cloud.com/conferencepreview2014.pdf

IASB members can build their own personal planner online to fill in, download, print , and take to Chicago. This online tool is posted on IASB's "Members-Only" website http://members.iasb.com. Once logged in, users should click on the "Annual Conference" tab across the top.

The calendar will show all conference events by day and type, listing them in chronological order. Users check a box for each desired event. The calendar does allow users to select multiple events at conflicting times, and then print the document for their personal use.

This year's event will be the 82nd Joint Annual Conference of the Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Association of School Administrators and Illinois Association of School Business Officials. More than 11,000 members and guests are expected to attend.