HINSDALE TOWNSHIP
High School District 86
Board Briefs Logo
August 25, 2022
Regular Action Meeting
Good News
Principal Patrick Hardy from Hinsdale South congratulated Quentin Giron on the awards he won at the DuPage County Fair's 4-H show (Reserve Grand Champion and Class Champion) and the Illinois State Fair (one of three championships awarded) for his small engines exhibit. He also congratulated Bryce Giron on being selected the Reserve Grand Champion at the DuPage County Fair's 4-H show for his project from Woods class.

Principal Hardy concluded his report by thanking teachers Sean Beesley and Alex Tomanovich, department chair John Madden and special education director Kristin Marks Pascavage for all they did to support Quentin and Bryce.

Principal Bill Walsh from Hinsdale Central shared that he is excited about the start of the school year. He mentioned that some faculty and staff, including those who serve on the Curriculum Leadership Team, were already back on campus for meetings, and stated that more would be in the buildings on Monday, He also said he was happy to see student-athletes back at school practicing and competing.

Committee Reports
Members of the Finance Committee provided the board with a report from their meeting on Aug. 17. During this meeting, the committee:

  • Received a presentation from Becky Thompson, a senior energy advisor with Nania Energy Advisors, about the renewal of the district's current natural gas and electricity contracts.

  • Reviewed the levy presentation and timeline from 2021, and provided direction on the timeline for the 2022 levy. The committee will review an updated levy presentation and forecast assumptions during its meeting on Sept. 7. The board will receive this presentation on Sept. 8., and is scheduled to take action on the forecast assumptions on Sept. 22. In October, the committee will review the district's five-year forecast. The board will review this forecast on Oct. 27 and provide direction for the estimated levy resolution. This resolution will be presented to the board for approval in November, and the final levy will be presented to the board for adoption in December. 

  • Reviewed an update about the status of the district's referendum projects that included estimates for Phase 4. 

Following the report, the board received a presentation from Ms. Thompson that included the following:

  • Information about the current status of the district's natural gas and electricity contracts.
  • Details about the current conditions in the energy market.
  • A summary of proposed solutions, RFP results and thresholds, and a recommendation for the electricity contract.
  • A summary of proposed solutions, RFP results and thresholds, and a recommendation for the natural gas contract.

You can access Ms. Thompson's presentation by visiting https://bit.ly/3dQzNU5.

After the presentation, the board authorized the administration to execute natural gas and electricity contracts for the district that are based on pricing parameters recommended by the district's energy consultant. The board gave the administration direction to pursue three-year contracts, but with the caveat that the district remain flexible (i.e., be open to pursuing shorter or longer contracts) should the markets change.

The board also voted to release the draft minutes from the Finance Committee meeting as part of the consent agenda.

Superintendent’s Report
Below are the topics that Superintendent Tammy Prentiss addressed in her report to the board.

Information/Updates about the National Sex Education Standards

  • Families that are interested in district-specific information about the standards and the sex education curriculum are encouraged to contact Janelle Marconi, the department chair for physical education, health and driver education (jmarconi@hinsdale86.org), or Dr. Chris Covino, the assistant superintendent for academics (ccovino@hinsdale86.org).

  • NSES are the standards for Illinois; they have been in place since Public Act 102-0522 took effect on Aug. 20, 2021.

  • Districts do not have to teach comprehensive sex education. However, those that do must follow NSES.

  • Districts that are saying they opted out of the standards were never actually teaching comprehensive sex education. Many of them are K-8 districts.

  • Parents/guardians can opt out of curriculum materials by submitting their request in writing to the head of the appropriate academic department.

  • Control over the curriculum has always been maintained at the local/district level and handled through the curriculum development process. In this case, our district is not making any substantive changes to the health curriculum based on the NSES update.

  • The district's administrators and course teams constantly review student progress, ISBE updates, etc. to make sure we are providing an outstanding education that complies with the law. We are doing both with our current health curriculum.

  • The seven content areas for sophomores include a total of 17 standards. People can access these content areas, along with the standards and the district's response to NSES changes from 2012 to the present, by visiting https://bit.ly/3dW4mI6
  1. Many of the revisions are limited to changes to names and curriculum categories.
  2. The most "controversial" topic, as noted by one of the community speakers on Aug. 11, is a standard that emphasizes a factual understanding of the terms related to gender and sexual identity. It is not instruction that teaches about or is focused on lifestyle.

Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee (PTAC)
  • Committee is composed of 22 parents/guardians, including eight with students in our feeder schools, and 12 staff members.

  • First meeting of the 2022-23 school year was held on Aug. 23 at the Transition Center's Burr Ridge location. The main topic for this meeting was a discussion about the academic health of the district.

  • There will be no student representatives on PTAC this year. Student feedback will be collected through the Principal-Student Advisory Council at each school.

  • PTAC's next meeting will be on Sept. 27 in the library at Hinsdale Central. The focus will be on curriculum alignment; topics will include an update from the special education program team and a discussion about new courses for the 2023-24 school year.

Community Conversations
  • Community Conversations are an opportunity for district leaders (e.g., administrators, department chairs, etc.) to join current and future District 86 parents/guardians for a discussion about topics that are critical to the success of our students, staff and schools.

  • The events will feature informal conversations about topics that are aligned with formal conversations taking place at PTAC meetings. They will provide the broader district community with an opportunity to share their thoughts on those topics and add their voice to those conversations. 

  • The first Community Conversation will be Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 7-8 p.m. in the library at Hinsdale Central. The focus will be on curriculum alignment and the topics will include updates from the special education program team and new course offerings for the 2023-24 school year. Feedback from this conversation will be brought to the PTAC meeting in September.

  • The district will use multiple platforms (e.g., website, emails, social media, feeder school communications, etc.) to publicize/promote the Community Conversations. 

Summer Construction Updates
  • Jason Oskorep (director of operations), Keith Bockwoldt (chief information officer), Kari Peronto (assistant principal for operations at Hinsdale South) and Ryan Maita (assistant principal for operations at Hinsdale Central) received shoutouts for all they have done with the construction projects and getting the buildings ready for the start of the school year.

  • During the past couple weeks, the district's communications department has produced videos about the work being done at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South.

  • The videos are available on the district’s YouTube channel, have been posted on social media and the website, and will be included in the district’s first update email of the school year.

Parent-Students Communication Enhancements
  • Infinite Campus
  1. All-in-one parent/student portal that includes the ability for parents/guardians to set up alerts for attendance and grade thresholds.
  2. New food service module that allows families to add to meal balances through the portal.
  3. Ability to pay fees directly through the portal.

  • Tip Line
  1. District is working with Navigate360 on the development of a new Tip Line.
  2. Features include: ability to remain anonymous when submitting tips or using the chat feature; ability to share photos, videos or other attachments when submitting a tip; ability for a user to follow up on a tip they submitted to either check on its status or provide additional information; ability to access the features and functions of the resource through a mobile app; and access to data and statistics.
  3. Shortcut link being added to all Chromebooks that students will be able to use to quickly and easily access the resource.
  4. The Tip Line is scheduled to be up and running by the start of the school year; students, staff and families will receive information about how to access and utilize it after it goes live.

  • Mobile App
  1. Free mobile app created in partnership with Finalsite (district's website provider).
  2. The app will serve as a central location where people can easily access important school and district information (e.g., news and announcements, calendars, staff directories, bell schedules, etc.).
  3. Items were chosen for inclusion on the app based on feedback provided by students and parents/guardians during website focus groups.
  4. The app is available for download on Google Play and the Apple App Store; search for Hinsdale District 86.

Health and Wellness

  • The district will closely monitor this guidance and update the plan as needed to ensure it remains aligned with the recommendations and requirements issued at the local, state and national level.

  • The COVID-19 dashboard will continue to be used to track and report on important issues such as the community level in DuPage County and number of positive cases in the district.

  • The district's layered mitigation plan is posted on the website and will be shared with stakeholders via Board Briefs and the district’s first update email of the school year (Aug. 29). The plan covers issues such as masking, what to do if you test positive, what to do if you are symptomatic, close contacts, testing, physical distancing, ventilation, hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfecting buildings.

  • Northshore Clinical Labs will once again provide on-site COVID-19 testing services for students and staff members. These services will strictly serve as a resource for those who are experiencing symptoms and want to get tested. The district's health services offices will also have free COVID-19 home test kits from IDPH that will be available for students to use off campus. In addition, people can order free at-home tests from the federal government by visiting https://www.covid.gov/tests

You can access Superintendent Prentiss' report by visiting https://bit.ly/3ch1wgA.

Consent Agenda
The board approved the consent agenda as amended. The consent agenda includes personnel, stipends, board bills and meeting minutes. Please visit https://bit.ly/3cha3QE to access the consent agenda items beginning under number six.


Approve Contract with Northshore Clinical Labs
The board approved a contract with Northshore Clinical Labs to provide on-site COVID-19 testing services for students and staff. These services will strictly serve as a resource for those who are experiencing symptoms and want to get tested.

You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting https://bit.ly/3QQ3qUo.

Board President's Report
Board President Erik Held shared that the Facilities and Special Committee has scheduled an additional meeting on Nov. 11 so that the group can review the Bid Period 5 award recommendations for the district's Future Ready Facilities work.

President Held provided information and updates about several of the topics that are currently on the board's list of future agenda items, including:

  • Changes to the district's sex education curriculum based on the updates to the National Sex Education Standards - President Held shared that this topic was covered by Superintendent Prentiss in her report.
  • Changes to the district's website, more specifically the absence of the phrase "A Tradition of Excellence" - President Held shared that the phrase has been added to the footer on every page of the site (was only on the homepage of the district's old site).
  • The information that is featured on the district's organizational chart - President Held and members of the administration shared that the district's chart is based on the template created by PRESS and meets all legal requirements. President Held also stated that a separate chart that includes the community can be posted on the board of education section of the website if that is something the board decides to pursue.
  • The board's access to the district's administrative procedures - President Held and Superintendent Prentiss shared that board members have access to all administrative procedures.
  • Costs related to the work being done in conjunction with the strategic plan - President Held provided information about what the district has spent on the work associated with the strategic plan. He also shared that the district has underspent what was budgeted for this work the past few years, which he said reflects the administration's commitment to fiscal stewardship.

President Held addressed the issue that was raised about the director of communications being copied on the emails sent to boe@hinsdale86.org. He shared that this information has been added to the district's website.

President Held concluded his report by discussing the board's upcoming self-evaluation, which will be conducted with the help of a facilitator from the Illinois Association of School Boards.

Future Agenda Items
Below are the future agenda items that were requested by members of the board.

  • A discussion about policy 2:110 (Qualifications, Term, and Duties of Board Officers). The board decided to refer this topic to the Policy Committee with a request to review and consider the inclusion of alternative language provided by PRESS.
  • A discussion about the costs related to the strategic plan. The board decided that the conversation about this topic would begin during the Finance Committee meeting in October.
  • A discussion about the possibility of livestreaming committee meetings.
  • A discussion about steps that can be taken to help reduce the district's legal expenses.
  • A discussion about the practice of automatically forwarding messages sent to boe@hinsdale86.org.

You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting https://bit.ly/3Rt9lyH.

Financial and Treasury Reports
Per its regular cadence of reporting, the administration provided the board with the financial and treasury reports for July 2022. You can access the financial reports by visiting https://bit.ly/3AO6sTr and the treasury report by visiting https://bit.ly/3wx68FZ.

FOIA Requests
The board received information about the FOIA requests that have been processed since its last regular action meeting. This information included the names or titles of the individuals and departments who helped respond to the requests, a summary of the records that were requested and who asked for them, and trend data about the number of requests that have been processed and the legal fees the district has incurred in responding to them.

You can access additional information about this agenda item by visiting https://bit.ly/3wyFEE9.

Following the second audience communication, the board adjourned to closed session for a discussion about the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of employees. The board took no action following the closed session other than to adjourn the meeting at 12:16 a.m.

You can access the video for this meeting by visiting https://vimeo.com/user9373008/videos.
Future Board Meetings
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Committee of the Whole Meeting

Thursday, September 22, 2022
Regular Action Meeting

Thursday, October 6, 2022
Committee of the Whole Meeting