February 8, 2022 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

The proposed calendar takes into consideration the 2022-2023 calendar of Lockport Township High School and the local LTHS feeder schools. We have tried to loosely match the winter and spring breaks. Also taken into account is the proposed start date. After discussion by the board in January, a few changes were made to option three to include an early release day on Dec. 23rd prior to winter break and an adjustment of the February Institute Day to offer a four day weekend for students and align our institute day with other feeder schools for collaboration opportunities.

Calendar Summary:

• The first day for staff is August 15.

• The first day for students is August 17. 

• We are in attendance on Veteran’s Day again, but will have off on November 8 for Election Day. I am proposing that we continue with our tradition of being off on President’s Day, February 21 (instead of Lincoln’s Birthday) and will allow our students to have a four day weekend then.

• Graduation will most likely be scheduled for the week of May 22, 2023 prior to Memorial Day weekend.  

Staff and parents have been notified of tonight's hearing. A copy of the proposed calendar is included in the electronic packet to which the public has access. I will answer any questions the audience may have Tuesday evening. 

1. Such a person shall submit a request in writing to the Board Secretary to address the Board. Such a request shall be received at least five (5) working days prior to the Board meeting and shall include said reason for the request.
2. At the meeting, a person who has complied with number 1 above shall inform the Board Secretary of his/her presence at the meeting.
3. Address the Board only at the appropriate time as indicated on the agenda and when recognized by the Board President.
4. Identify oneself and be brief. Ordinarily, such comments shall be limited to five minutes.  In unusual circumstances, and when an individual has made a request in advance to speak for a longer period of time, the individual may be allowed to speak for more than five minutes. 
5. The Board President may shorten or lengthen an individual’s opportunity to speak.  The President may also deny an individual the opportunity if the individual has previously addressed the Board on the same subject within the past 2 months. 
6. The Board President shall have the authority to determine procedural matters regarding public participation not otherwise defined in Board of Education policy. 
7. Conduct oneself with respect and civility toward others and otherwise abide by Board policy, 8:30, Visitors to and Conduct on School Property. 

We will be recognizing the MG first grade student representatives, KG students of the month, Chess Club, Nature Club and Student Council representatives.

We have received one request for information under the Freedom of Information Act since the January 2022 meeting of the Board of Education. A summary of the request is below and a copy of the response is attached.

Requested by: Illinois Retired Teacher Association

Information Requested: Please provide the name and email address of any certified staff (teachers, administrators, nurses, counselors, etc.) who are retiring this year.

FOIA Received: January 18, 2022

FOIA Completed: January 18, 2022

I am looking for feedback from the board of education to determine if we should prepare a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an Architect.  We have discussed at the finance meetings that it may be a good time to look at changing architects based on our current district needs.  If the board chooses to move forward, we would then look to have board approval to move forward with the RFQ process to select a new district architect at the March board meeting.  The process will take place in accordance with the attached timeline; the timeline was prepared based on 50 ILCS 510, Local Government Professional Services Selection Act.  

If the board chooses to proceed, we will prepare the RFQ based on a template provided by the IASBO Facilities-Management PDC Committee.   The RFQ would then be reviewed and approved by our school district attorney prior to board approval. 

Last year, Lockport Township High School was in the process of working with ??? to conduct a demographic study for the Lockport community schools.  This study was unfortunately delayed many times due to the pandemic and the firms' inability to get data from sources because it was not updated during the pandemic.  This fall, the firm was able to finalize all their data sources needed to complete the study.  Within the past month, we have now received information respective to our District 91 demographics.  Attached you will find documents prepared specifically for Lockport District 91.  

On Saturday, February 26, 2022, at 9am, the firm will be sending the lead team member out to present the findings of the demographic study to the Lockport Township High School Board of Education.  This will be a special committee meeting and we can send representatives from our board of education to the meeting to listen and ask questions that may be specific to our community.  On Tuesday evening at the board meeting, we will be looking to identify what members of the D91 board would like to represent our school district at this meeting.

As part of the superintendent’s contract, it is the responsibility of the school board to conduct an annual evaluation of the superintendent by March of each contract year.  On Tuesday evening, Ms. Garrett will present the board with the evaluation document and information regarding the completion of the evaluation process.  Please review the attached evaluation document and prepare to give feedback during the discussion.

Illinois law - 40 ILCS 5/16-204 - requires Teachers’ Retirement System to offer an optional defined contribution benefit to eligible active members of the System. To comply with this law, TRS has contracted with Voya Financial to develop and offer the TRS Supplemental Savings Plan (SSP).  The SSP is a 457(b) retirement plan.

The participation agreement is required by Section 457(b) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and must be formally adopted, signed and returned to the System in order for an employer’s TRS-covered members to be eligible to participate in the SSP.

Last Spring, the board was brought information on this savings plan, but TRS was limited in the program offerings and setup at that time.  Attached you will find recent information that was shared by TRS with the current SSP information. 

The board may choose to allow the district the ability to enroll staff in this plan and have them contribute via their payroll.  One of the complicated issues regarding the SSP plan is the tracking of employee contributions.  The 2022 IRS maximum contribution for a 401k, 403b, or 457 plan is $20,500.  So, if an employee also participates in 401k or 403b and chooses the TRS 457, we will need to determine who is responsible for tracking the combined contributions for an individual employee to make sure there are no excess contributions being made in a calendar year.  This could be done by creating a form that staff would complete if requesting the opportunity to contribute to the 457 plan.  

If the board is interested in offering this option for staff, I will present a resolution for formal board approval at the March board meeting.

RECOMMENDATION

Approve the 2022-2023 school calendar as presented.

BACKGROUND

Information has been shared with the Board and staff. Staff and parents have been notified of the hearing held at the beginning of the meeting this evening.

It is recommended the Board of Education approve the 2022-2023 school calendar as presented.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the District 91 Board of Education increase the current student registration fees, technology fee, activity/athletic fees, and band fees by 1.4% (CPI) per student.

BACKGROUND

Each year the Board of Education needs to establish school fees for the following school year. Below are the dates we are tentatively planning for registration:

• Online kindergarten registration will open March 21, 2022. 

• Kindergarten in-person appointments will be April 20, 2022 by appointment only at Milne Grove, for those who have not completed the on-line registration and/or need assistance. 

• Early bird registration for returning students will be May 2 - June 1, 2022. We would offer the final date of June 1st for in-person early bird registration from 3-6pm.

• New families may register beginning with regular registration on June 2, 2022.

Currently, the district does not charge an "activity fee" for clubs. Art, Science, nature, debate clubs, etc. may charge students a fee, but it goes into the club’s activity account for supplies. These fees do not go into the general account to pay the sponsors.

The athletic fees (fee paid for each athletic activity in which a student participates) offset the cost of supplies, tournaments, supervision, and coaching fees. The band fee helps to offset the cost of the school instruments and director fee.

Additionally, the textbook fee includes the pro-rated annual cost of the chrome books and cases that were purchased in order to implement a 1:1 technology model for all students in the district starting the 2021-2022 school year.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the District 91 Board of Education increase the current student registration fees, technology fees, activity/athletic, and band fees by 1.4% (CPI) per student.  We also recommend removing the late payment fee and keeping all fees the same after June 2nd regular registration.

Resulting 2021-2022 Fees:

*All amounts have been rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

RECOMMENDATION

To continue the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with LTHS District 205 to have Quest provide food service to District 91 as a satellite program for the 2022-2023 school year with the increases as listed below.

BACKGROUND

During the 2020-2021 school year, the cost per meal was increased by $.05. 

For the 2021-2022 school year, the cost of each breakfast was increased by $0.10, each lunch was increased by $0.35, and each snack increased by $0.15.

Per the intergovernmental agreement, the 2022-2023 school year will have a cost per meal increase by $.05.

The additional cost we charge over what LTHS charges us for the food, helps to subsidize the District’s cost for personnel to prepare and serve meals. Snack costs for the Early Learners’ Program is covered by the PFA grant.

It is recommended the District 91 Board of Education approve the continuation of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with LTHS District 205 to have Quest provide food to District 91 as a satellite program for the 2022-2023 school year. Meal rates for 2022-2023 will be $3.85 per lunch, $2.20 per breakfast, $0.50 per additional milk, and $1.30 per snack for the preschool program.

Recommendation: 

To adopt the updated/revised/new policies below as discussed during the first reading at the January 2022 general meeting.

 

MOTION to approve:

Approve the replacement of both Kelvin Grove boilers in the amount not to exceed $168,200 as an emergency expenditure.

RECOMMENDATION:

After reviewing with the board attorney and receiving the information on the status of the boilers from the mechanical company prior to the January board meeting, my recommendation is for the board to confirm the approval for the replacement of the two Kelvin Grove boilers in an amount not to exceed $168,200.

BACKGROUND:

In early January, one of the boilers went down at Kelvin Grove.  Given we are in the coldest months of the year, it is imperative that we have heat for our schools.  One of the boilers has already been installed.  Once it is up and running, the second older boiler will be removed and the company will begin installing the second boiler system.  Both projects will be completed within the same time frame, not incurring any additional installation costs at a later date.

Recommendation: To approve the change of the June 14, 2022 board meeting one week sooner, to a new date of June 7, 2022.