September 8, 2022
Committee of the Whole Meeting
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Board Liaison Reports
Principal Bill Walsh introduced student liaison Meghna Mitra, who provided the following information from her board report:
- Details about the first day of school, which included the Back to School Bash.
- A recap of summer activities and accomplishments, which included club leaders from the school taking part in a leadership training camp run by the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA); Dan Jones being named a finalist for National Athletic Director of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association; and the speech and debate team participating in the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Kentucky.
- An update about fall athletics, including the results from the Kendall Pickering Invitational, the boys soccer team's strong start to the season, and the girls volleyball team's performance at the Crimson Classic.
- Details about the fundraising events that were organized by the poms team, the girls swimming and diving team, and the girls tennis team.
- Student feedback about the upgrades and improvements that were made to the school, including renovations to the library, counseling office and cafeteria.
- Student feedback about the changes to the district's grading practices, as well as the excitement and anxieties associated with returning to school.
Principal Patrick Hardy introduced student liaison Makena Camden, who provided the following information from her board report:
- Details about the first day of school, which included the freshman and new student experience and an activities fair.
- Student feedback about the upgrades and improvements that were made to the school, including renovations to classrooms, the auditorium, student services and the pool.
- The names of the students who earned the College Board's National African American Recognition Award (Ciara Hall, Duyen Millon and Zayn Arroyo) and National Hispanic Recognition Program Award (Elena Garcia, Juliana Clemens and Sophia Yen).
School Security
Kevin Simpson, the district's director of security, provided the board with a follow-up to the presentation he gave on June 2, 2022, about the measures that are in place for keeping the district's students, staff and schools safe. Below is a summary of the updates he provided.
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Summer construction limited the security team's ability to test the capabilities of systems and resources such as the BluePoint alert solutions, fire alarms and emergency call buttons. However, they were able to conduct that testing during the institute days that were held prior to the start of school.
- Security officers have completed CPR/AED and ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. Those who are authorized to carry firearms have completed training in accordance with the Illinois Retired Officers Conceal and Carry (IROCC) program. In addition, some officers participated in scenario-based training with the Hinsdale police department at the end of July/beginning of August. This training will be mandatory for all security staff going forward.
- All district staff will complete a hybrid version of ALICE training this year.
- All drills required by the state have been scheduled at both high schools.
- The district has complied with the requirements set forth by the regional office of education (ROE), which include the submission of a threat assessment plan.
- A committee has been formed to assess and evaluate the potential need for and benefits of a weapons detection system. This committee, which includes representatives from both high schools, will have its first meeting on Sept. 22.
After his presentation, Simpson, who is retiring in October, was recognized with a resolution that highlighted his accomplishments during his time with the district. You can access the resolution by visiting https://bit.ly/3DfLkqL.
Superintendent’s Report
Below are the topics that Superintendent Tammy Prentiss addressed in her report to the board.
First Day of School
Superintendent Prentiss talked about the success of the first day of school, and thanked everyone who helped get the buildings ready.
Summer Construction
- The remaining Phase 2 projects were completed this summer. These projects included:
- Fine arts addition/renovation at Hinsdale Central.
- Pool addition/renovation at Hinsdale South.
- All Phase 3 projects were substantially completed by the start of school. These projects, which had a total cost of $32.2 million, included:
- Auditorium and student services renovations at Hinsdale South.
- Library and cafeteria renovations at Hinsdale Central.
- Career and technology education renovations at both high schools.
- All remaining classroom renovations and furniture upgrades at Hinsdale South were completed as part of Phase 3.
- All remaining classroom renovations at Hinsdale Central are part of the Phase 4 work that is scheduled for the summer of 2023. Bids will be opened at the end of October and presented to the board for action in November.
Technology Update
- Replaced network cabling that dates back to the 1990s.
- Installed new network racks, switches and cabling.
- Upgraded the district’s login servers.
- Coordinated the take down and reinstallation of computer labs, projectors, copiers, wireless access points, clocks, intercom, call buttons and security cameras.
- Distributed new laptops to administrative assistants, 1,000 Chromebooks to freshmen and 100 Chromebooks to paraprofessionals.
- Included the new Chromebook Protection Plan with the technology fee (no charge to families).
- Upgraded servers for Infinite Visions, which is a system used by the business office and human resources department.
- Converted more than 40,500 student records in conjunction with the move to Infinite Campus.
- Managed the course code alignment project.
- Integrated registration, fee payments, food service, and student and parent/guardian portals with Infinite Campus.
- Continued the implementation of the SchooLinks course planner.
Emails to and from the Board of Education
- The board has directed access to its group email account since it was created in 2013 at the request of a sitting board member. Staff in the Superintendent's Office have had access to the group account since its creation. This means that eight or nine people have had the ability to view or receive emails sent to boe@hinsdale86.org since 2013. No staff or administrators have ever automatically received blind carbon copy or forwarded emails sent to individual board member accounts.
- In April 2014, there was no director of communications position in District 86. The board recording secretary fulfilled some of the duties that would typically be assigned to this position, including viewing and sending communications on behalf of the board from the group email account.
- In November 2014, the d86-info@hinsdale86.org account was created and managed by the public relations specialist (Karen Warner). That account is still used to send district communications via Constant Contact (e.g., Updates from 86, First Look, Board Briefs, etc.).
- In December 2019, the board participated in a self-evaluation that was guided by a representative from IASB. During a discussion about its protocols, the board decided to add the director of communications to its group email account primarily for monitoring purposes. The board also decided to create forwarding rules for the FOIA officer.
- On February 13, 2020, a memo from the IASB representative summarizing the board's self-evaluation was included in BoardDocs and referenced during the regular action meeting held that day. Links to the documents were also included in the Board Briefs for the meeting. The changes that the board made to its group email account have remained the status quo.
- Following the conversion from Outlook to Gmail in January 2021, the district no longer has licensing for the Outlook/Office365 system. From a technical perspective, this means that email settings, lists and memberships are no longer accessible. However, the district maintains access to archived emails. This email archive has also been converted to Gmail.
Upcoming Events
- Curriculum Night for Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale South and the Transition Center will be on Sept. 15. The event at Central and South will start at 7 p.m., and the event at the Transition Center will start at 5:30 p.m.
- There will be tours of the upgraded facilities at Hinsdale South on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. and at Hinsdale Central on Sept. 24 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The board will have guided tours of the buildings in conjunction with their meetings on Sept. 22 and Oct. 6.
- The first early release Wednesday will be Sept. 21. The school day will be from 8 a.m.-12:35 p.m. Classes will be 35 minutes long. Students can go home at dismissal or stay on campus and take advantage of various opportunities/resources (e.g., test makeups, intervention supports, SAT prep, peer tutoring, etc.).
- The Illinois State Board of Elections recently hosted a webinar to assist anyone who is running or considering a run for office in 2023. That webinar is now available on YouTube, and can be accessed by visiting https://youtu.be/m27BJ9B3oUY.
Community Conversations
- Twenty-two people have RSVPed for the first two Community Conversations - Sept. 13 from 7-8 p.m. in the library at Hinsdale Central and Oct. 19 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Hinsdale South.
- Sessions will be recorded for people who are unable to attend.
Parent-Student Communication Enhancements
- Launched on Sept. 6.
- There is a shortcut to it on all student Chromebooks, and a link to it on the district’s website and mobile app.
- Information about it was shared via school and district communications.
- The Tip Line can be accessed via P3Campus.com and the free P3 Campus mobile app.
- More than 700 people have downloaded and are using the district’s free mobile app.
- The app features school and district information, and is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store - search for Hinsdale District 86.
District 86 Health and Wellness
- The district will continue utilizing a layered mitigation plan that is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and DuPage County Health Department (DCHD).
- The district will also continue to use our COVID-19 dashboard to track and report on important issues such as the community level in DuPage County and number of positive cases in our buildings.
- Home test kits from IDPH will be distributed to each campus for student use only. Northshore Clinical Labs will be offering on-site services for students and staff on a daily basis from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Finance Committee Report
Given its correlation to the discussions about the budget and levy, the board moved the Finance Committee's report about its meeting on Sept. 7 up on the agenda. During this meeting, the committee:
- Reviewed the final fiscal year 2023 budget, which was presented to the board Sept. 8 and will be brought back for action Sept. 22.
- Reviewed the levy presentation and forecast assumptions, which were presented to the board Sept. 8.
- Reviewed the organizational chart that will be used for the district's financial reporting.
The minutes from the Finance Committee meeting will be presented to the board for approval at a later date.
Budget for Fiscal Year 2023
The board reviewed the final budget for fiscal year 2023. The next steps in the process are to hold a public hearing about the budget and present it to the board for adoption. Both of those steps are scheduled to occur during the board meeting on Sept. 22.
2022 Levy
The board received a presentation about the 2022 levy that included:
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Key terms - tax levy, extension, market value, assessed value, equalized assessed value (EAV), net equalized assessed value, tax base, tax rate, tax liability, Property Tax Extension Law Limit (PTELL), limiting rate and Truth in Taxation.
Board - New Business
During the portion of the meeting dedicated to new business, the board discussed the process for creating minutes for confidential closed session meetings. Following its discussion, the board decided that the minutes for these meetings will be written as a summary instead of a transcript. The board also decided that the minutes will not include attributions to the people who participate in these sessions.
Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC) Report
Members of the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC) provided the board with a report from their meeting on Aug. 23. During this meeting, the committee reviewed, discussed and provided feedback about the following data sets in conjunction with its conversation about the academic health of the district:
- NWEA - MAP scores and growth.
- District 86 grades.
- PSAT/SAT scores and growth.
- Advanced Placement scores.
You can access additional information about this meeting, including some of the key takeaways from the data discussion, by visiting https://bit.ly/3L1ihJf.
The board also voted to release the draft minutes from the PTAC meeting as part of the consent agenda.
Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as presented. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit https://bit.ly/3BqB0L9 to access the consent agenda items beginning under number eight.
Renewal of Edgenuity Online Course Software
The board approved a one-year renewal of the Edgenuity online course software that the district has used for self-paced student instruction in special education and course remediation for several years. The renewal includes site licenses for Central and South, access to digital libraries for all courses, and administrative features such as Plagiarism Checker. It is funded primarily through the federal IDEA grant, with some additional funding coming from the ESSER grants.
Board President's Report
Board President Erik Held talked about school being back in session. He shared that he is excited to have the students walking through the remodeled buildings, and is happy they have the chance to reconnect with their friends. He welcomed back the faculty and staff, and said he is proud of the excellence that is the hallmark of the district. He also wished the students the best, and said he is looking forward to what he believes will be a great year.
Future Agenda Items
During the portion of the meeting dedicated to the discussion about future agenda items, the board talked about several of the current items on the list. They identified topics that could be removed because they had been addressed. They also identified the dates when some of the topics will be discussed.
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Thursday, September 22, 2022
Regular Action Meeting
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Regular Action Meeting
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