Good News
During their reports to the board, Principal Walsh from Hinsdale Central and Principal Pokorny Lyp from Hinsdale South recognized several students, clubs and teams from their respective schools for their recent accomplishments.
In his report, Principal Walsh recognized:
- The varsity girls swimming and diving team for winning its Sectional championship and qualifying for state.
- The varsity girls cross country team for taking third place at state.
- The varsity girls tennis team for taking second place at state.
- The varsity boys golf team for finishing in seventh place at state, and team member Jack Bartuch for finishing in the top 15.
- Sarah Thornton and Jessica Joy for representing the varsity girls golf team at the state tournament. Sarah finished in the top 20 as a freshman
In her report, Principal Pokorny Lyp recognized:
- Varsity girls cross country for qualifying for state as a team for the first time in school history.
- Julian Watson and Nick Beronio from the varsity boys cross country team for qualifying for and competing at state.
- The freshman students who represented South at the West Suburban Conference Young Leaders Workshop.
- The students who helped reach out to families that will be receiving a holiday meal and gifts for young children from the Darien Lions Club.
- The students from the math team who finished in the top 10 in their individuals events during a recent competition at Hinsdale Central, including Habib Rehman and Elijah John who took first place in the Oralist event.
- Imaan Hasan, who earned third place in the annual Write On! poetry competition for her poem “I Need to Give Up," and Kassidy Keating, who placed in the Write On! competition for her piece “Go Put it in Action” and earned second place in the category “Words About Hope.”
- Caraline Custardo for being the first diver from Hinsdale South to qualify for state since 1986.
- The chess team, which had two recent wins and a great showing at a tournament held at Argo High School.
- Junior Diana Temelkov, whose entry took third place in the Sports Reaction Photo of the Year category in conjunction with the nationwide contest that the National Scholastic Press Association holds on an annual basis.
Principal Principal Pokorny Lyp also noted that Samira Ahmed, who is an author of young adult fiction and poetry, came to South for the school's annual author visit and talked about her recent novel "Love, Hate & Other Filters and Internment."
Future Ready Facilities Update
Representatives from Pepper Construction, ARCON and Cotter Consulting provided the board with an update regarding the work that is scheduled to be completed in conjunction with the district’s Future Ready Facilities plans. This update included information about the budget, fire sprinkler requirements, fire alarm and voice notification requirements, zoning, turf field procurement, estimates for design development, phasing and key milestone dates.
Following the completion of the estimates for the design development portion of the work, the total cost of all the Future Ready Facilities projects is less than 1% above the budget of $139,815,983 that was approved by voters on April 2, 2019.
You can access the presentation the board received by visiting
http://bit.ly/33mVLTH, the design development estimate summary by visiting
http://bit.ly/2KSLtVk, and the video of the recent joint meeting between the Facilities Committee and the special committee regarding community engagement with construction by visiting
https://vimeo.com/373461651 (the conversation about the design development summary starts at the 53:05 mark and ends at the 1:02 mark).
Approve FieldTurf USA, Inc. Contract
As part of Phase I of the district’s Future Ready Facilities plans, the board voted to approve a contract with FieldTurf USA, Inc. in the amount of $1,973,127.66 with a budget contingency of $98,656.38 for the purchase and installation of synthetic turf at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. You can access the contract by visiting
http://bit.ly/2XPShYP.
Strategic Plan Goal 5 - Resources
Josh Stephenson, who is the district’s chief financial officer and the champion for Goal 5 of the strategic plan, provided the board with a brief update on the status of his team's efforts to date. This update included information about the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) the team will use to measure and assess progress on its goal, which is to ensure that financial, facility and technological resources align with the district's goals, strategies and core values. These KPIs include:
- Fund balance to revenue ratio
- Days of cash on hand
- Actual versus budgeted expenditures
- Instructional expenditures per pupil
- Operational expenditures per pupil
- A long-range capital replacement plan
Stephenson also shared information about what the team has already done and/or will be doing to advance its four strategies, including:
- Strategy 12 (Budget Alignment) - initial meeting and data collection; planning next steps
- Strategy 13 (Classroom Design)
- What has been done - completed site visits during the fall of 2019; determined there will be 11 pilot classrooms during the summer of 2020; included the renovation plan in the Phase I work
- Next steps - hold a furniture showcase during second semester; schedule remaining classrooms; get feedback on the pilot
- Strategy 14 (Accessibility and Life Safety)
- What has been done - established ADA priorities; worked with end user groups; determined phasing for life safety projects
- Next steps - determine final allocation of ADA funds; track/report completion of life safety projects
- Strategy 15 (Capital Replacement Plan) - work to build a repository of capital assets; determine how to store/track assets; determine the appropriate funding level for keeping pace with capital asset replacement
Facilities and Special Committee Report
Members of the Facilities Committee provided the board with a report from its joint meeting with the special committee regarding community engagement with construction, which was held at Hinsdale South High School on Nov. 15, 2019. This report included an update on the efforts being undertaken by the committee that is working to secure funding for the pool project at Hinsdale Central. To date, the group has raised $1,455,256 of its goal of $1.6 million.
The board also voted to release the draft minutes from the joint meeting as part of the consent agenda.
Consent Agenda
The board voted to approve the consent agenda as presented. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit
http://bit.ly/35ybPn9
to access the
consent agenda items beginning under number six.
Approve Reciprocal Reporting Agreements
In an effort to help preserve and protect the welfare and safety of District 86 students and employees, the board voted to approve agreements with the police departments for the Village of Hinsdale and the City of Darien that will establish a reciprocal reporting system regarding criminal offenses that are committed by students enrolled in the district. You can access the agreement with the Village of Hinsdale by visiting
http://bit.ly/34kmOjP and the agreement with the City of Darien by visiting
http://bit.ly/2KPyZgY.
Approve School Resource Officer Agreements
The board voted to approve School Resource Officer (SRO) agreements with the Village of Hinsdale and the City of Darien that will result in Hinsdale assigning a police officer to serve as an SRO for Hinsdale Central and Darien assigning a police officer to serve as an SRO for Hinsdale South. You can access the agreement with the Village of Hinsdale by visiting
http://bit.ly/2Ds16ip and the agreement with the City of Darien by visiting
http://bit.ly/2OlJn20.
Approve Emergency Access Agreement
The board voted to approve an agreement with the City of Darien that will give Darien’s police department access to school security video feeds and radio frequencies in emergency situations. Having this access will enable the police to provide critical services during an emergency that will help keep the district’s students and staff safe. You can access the agreement by visiting
http://bit.ly/33l67Uh.
Approve Proposed Changes to the Program of Studies
The board voted to approve the proposed changes to the Program of Studies for Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South that were presented during the committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 14. You can access a summary of the changes by visiting
http://bit.ly/2KohQLc, the Program of Studies for Central by visiting
http://bit.ly/32PZCbE and the Program of Studies for South by visiting
http://bit.ly/32MuGcC.
Approve Proposed General, Course and Technology Fees
The board voted to approve the proposed general, course and technology fees for the 2020-21 school year that were presented during the committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 14. You can access the fees for Central by visiting
http://bit.ly/2qTzBLo and the fees for South by visiting
http://bit.ly/2CMGW2e.
Award RFP #20-018 (New Servers, Blade Servers and Storage) to Mindsight LLC
The board voted to award RFP #20-018 (New Servers, Blade Servers and Storage) to Mindsight LLC for $367,093.68. The district received seven responses to the request for proposals it issued on September 19, 2019. After reviewing the proposals, the district’s evaluation committee unanimously selected Mindsight LLC. You can access additional information about this RFP by visiting
http://bit.ly/35t6T2W.
Adopt Resolution #20.08 Estimating the Aggregate Levy for 2019
The board voted to adopt a resolution estimating the aggregate levy for 2019. Pursuant to Truth in Taxation law, the board is required to estimate the amount of taxes necessary for the year at least 20 days before adopting a levy. Per policy 4:10 (Fiscal and Business Management), the administration provided the estimated tax levy during the committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 14. Since the estimated aggregate levy shows a year-over-year change of less than 105%, no Truth in Taxation hearing is required. The board will vote to adopt the final levy during its meeting on Dec. 12.
Approve Parameters for Energy Contracts
The board voted to authorize Josh Stephenson to execute contracts for natural gas and electricity that are based on the pricing parameters recommended by Nania Energy Advisors, which is the district’s energy consultant. Based on current market conditions, Nania Energy Advisors recommends the district execute new 36-month contracts for natural gas and electricity. You can access additional information about this topic by visiting
http://bit.ly/2XRpFhV.
Board President’s Report
Board President Nancy Pollak talked about her recent visits to Hinsdale South, where she attended a Latin II Honors course, and the Transition Center, where she saw a cooking class and a music therapy session. She also talked about the opportunity she had to help students from Transition make ornaments for the Village of Westmont's holiday tree.
Member Hirsman gave an update about the resolutions that were reviewed and voted on during the Annual Meeting of the IASB Delegate Assembly on Nov. 23. She announced that the resolution that would "allow voluntary district employees, in any capacity, the ability to carry a concealed firearm on district property" did not pass, while the one regarding the school safety grant program did pass. You can access additional information about the resolutions by visiting
http://bit.ly/37DaFbQ.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Prentiss shared that she attended the Transition Center's annual Turkey Bowl, which was held at Bowlero Woodridge on Nov. 22. More than 200 young adults (ages 18-22) from 16 different transition programs took part in the event, which was supported and sponsored by a number of businesses from the community.
Superintendent Prentiss mentioned that she attended the Thanksgiving feast that the building leadership team from South served to the school's employees.
Superintendent Prentiss shared that she has conducted 100 walk-throughs apiece at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South this year. During her most recent visit to South, she had the chance to see the outdoor physical education class learn to kayak in the pool, and also sat in on an anatomy and physiology class.
Superintendent Prentiss also mentioned that the next Superintendent's Roundtable meeting will take place on Dec. 3. During this meeting, the group is scheduled to continue it discussion of the second principle featured in the book
"The Happiness Advantage" by Shawn Anchor. This principle, which is titled "The Fulcrum and the Lever," focuses on how you can change your performance and your view of work (job, career or calling) by changing your mindset.
Financial and Treasury Reports
Per its regular cadence of reporting, the administration provided the board with the treasury and financial reports for October 2019. You can access the financial report by visiting
http://bit.ly/2DgX0cG and the treasury report by visiting
http://bit.ly/35zB0pq.
Operational Calendar and Future Agenda Items
