November 14, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Regular Board Meeting

Description:  Call to Order. Secretary to the Board will take attendance.

Description: 

Individuals wishing to speak during public comment must complete the Public Comment Form and submit it to the Board Secretary prior to the start of the meeting.

Board Policy 2:230. At each regular and special open meeting, members of the public and District employees may comment to or ask questions of the School Board, subject to reasonable constraints. The individuals appearing before the Board are expected to follow these guidelines:

1. Address the Board only at the appropriate time as indicated on the agenda and when recognized by the Board President.
2. Identify oneself and be brief. Ordinarily, comments shall be limited to 5 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 5 minutes.
3. Observe the Board President's decision to shorten public comment to conserve time and give the maximum number of individuals an opportunity to speak.
4. Observe the Board President's decision to determine procedural matters regarding public participation not otherwise covered in Board policy.
5. Conduct oneself with respect and civility toward others and otherwise abide by Board Policy, 8:30, Visitors to and Conduct on School Property.

Members of the public may speak during this portion of the meeting. Comments are limited to five minutes. Board members will not respond to public comments or questions during "Public Comments". Should total Public Comments approach or exceed a cumulative time of 30 minutes, the Board may suspend additional Public Comments until immediately prior to the Board and Superintendent Comments portion of the agenda.

Description: 

Board Policy 2:220 The President shall designate a portion of the agenda as a consent agenda for those items that usually do not require extensive discussion before Board action. Upon the request of any Board member, an item will be withdrawn from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda for independent consideration. 

There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Board Member so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as the first item after approval of the Consent Agenda.

Description:  Regular personnel items.

Description:  The Board is asked to approve the submission of the School Maintenance Grant Project to ISBE and set aside sufficient funds to meet the district's financial obligation of the grant. 

The grant project is tentatively planned to complete a total of 12 door upgrades, including doors at Broadmeadow, Northview, Eastlawn, Pleasant Acres, and JW Eater. The tentative estimated cost of the project is $108,000, $50,000 of which is funded by ISBE and the remaining dollars by the district. 

Description:  The District is in the process of determining our annual Tax Levy. At the December Board Meeting, the Board will be asked to approve the Tax Levy. This year's levy will not require a Truth in Taxation Hearing. For the third year in a row, the Board will be able to lower the tax rate.

The Tax Levy is the legal mechanism for the District to request that taxes are collected. It is typical that the Tax Levy exceeds the Extension (the amount collected by the county). This is done in order to account for possible errors, miscalculations, or last-minute changes.

This year, the county estimates a property value increase in RCS of 11.8% with an additional $388,840 in new property. The District is limited in the amount of increase they can receive by the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL, also known as Tax Caps). Our tax extension is limited this year to 3.4%. This protects local property tax payers from a large increase in their tax bill. In a non-PTELL District, there could be a significantly higher property tax rate increase and even higher tax bills. 

The Tentative Tax Levy is to ask for a net 4.57% increase ($309,203). The likely Extension is estimated as a 3.62% increase ($245,409). The estimated total tax rate for RCS will decrease from 4.2998% to 3.9873%. This is the third consecutive year that the Board will cut the property tax rate for the district.

The numbers provided here are estimates and subject to change prior to Board action at the December meeting.

Description:  The Board is asked to approve the new Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). This plan aligns with I Love You Guys Foundation's Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method. The EOP is not a public document, but the Board is provided access.

Description:  The Board is provided a monthly report detailing student in-school suspension, out-of-school suspensions, and placements in CARE. Due to the student record data contained in this report, this report remains confidential. 

Description:  The information in this report has been posted to our website as per statute.

Description:  The information in this report has been posted to our website as per statute.

Description: 

The Board will move to closed session for the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to the Local Government Wage Increase Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with this Act. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1).

And

Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11).