August 19, 2022
The Lyons Township High School District #204 Board of Education conducted a Regular Action Meeting on Monday, August 15, 2022, at North Campus in Room 251. The following items occurred during the meeting:
For more information regarding the Board of Education, which includes a link to view the livestream of all meetings, please visit the LTHS Board of Education website.
Public Hearing on La Grange Area Department of Special Education (LADSE) FY 23 Budget. There were no comments on the public hearing of the LADSE FY 23 Budget.
LTEA
LT Education Association President Andrew Johannes welcomed everyone back from Summer Break. He excitedly welcomed the new faculty and staff. President Johannes expressed LTEA support for the Strategic Plan, as well as for the most recent grading changes that were communicated in July. President Johannes also thanked the Board for their continued work in the district. President Johannes ended his report with a welcome for new beginnings to a new school year.
Student Representative Report
Student Rep Matthew Walsh shared that LT offered many summer school classes over the summer including Physics, Culinary Arts, Consumer Economics, Geometry and more. Many LT clubs participated in the Pet Parade on June 4th. There were many different LT clubs and athletics offered over the summer, including youth campus and clinics. Seniors have started taking Senior pictures. Two LT Students, Graham Sackly and Jack Meyers organized a non-profit 5K on July 14th. Gearing up for Fall, Fall sports started their season on August 8th. All students participated in book pick up days. Student Council and other clubs have worked hard to organize the Freshmen Experience day which will take place on August 19th. The first day of school is August 22nd. Many groups auditions are currently taking place. Lastly, many students and community members are already planning Homecoming and Homecoming Spirit week which begins on September 18th.
Superintendent’s District Report
Dr. Waterman welcomed Matthew Walsh as the 2022-2023 Student Rep to the Board.
Dr. Waterman shared that he is excited about the upcoming school year. Last week we welcomed twenty new certified staff that includes classroom teachers, social workers, counselors, a new college and career counselor, a new bi-lingual coordinator and more. When combined with our new paraeducators, administrative assistants, and all new employees, Dr. Waterman is excited about the impact our newest lions will have on our school community. Dr. Waterman thanked the board members for taking the time to meet our newest staff and wish them well.
Dr. Waterman also shared that on Wednesday, we will address all 400+ of our staff during an Opening Institute Day session and we are looking forward to sharing our initial strategic planning work. Then, on Friday, Dr. Tyrrell and our Building Leadership Team have planned an amazing Freshman Experience Day for the Class of 2026. And, of course, on Monday, August 22, we will enthusiastically open our doors for 4,000 LT students. In classrooms on Monday and Tuesday, our focus will be on social emotional learning, making connections, and ensuring every student feels a sense of belonging, and creating a culture of warmth, but also of structure and high expectations. On Wednesday, teachers will turn their attention to sharing their course-specific syllabi, grading practices, learning activities, and course expectations. And, Dr. Waterman reminded everyone that additional information will be shared on the Back to School Webinar, which will be hosted on Thursday evening at 7:00pm. Our district administrators and so many other staff have been working all summer to prepare for next week, and we could not be more excited!
FOIA
We have received six freedom of information requests since our last regular action meeting on June 21.
- An individual requested e-mail communication between specific LT employees and an educational consulting firm.
- An individual requested disciplinary data from the 2021-22 school year.
- An organization requested purchase order records for a specific timeframe.
- An organization requested names and e-mail addresses for all certified staff who have announced their retirement date in the future.
- An individual requested the districts transportation agreement for the 2022-23 school year.
- An organization requested purchase order records for a specific timeframe.
Business
LADSE submitted for Adoption the La Grange Area Department Special Education (LADSE) FY 23 Budget.
Dr. Waterman presented a second reading of the DAOES Intergovernmental agreement. DAOES is the governing system for the Technology Center of DuPage (TCD), which is a Career and Technical Education Center that provides student programming in a variety of vocational areas of study. This updated IGA is a culmination of work the DAOES Board has done over the past year. The next step in this process is for each local School Board, including Lyons Township High School District #204, to approve the amended DAOES Intergovernmental Agreement.
Director of Human Resources Ed Piotrowski presented a second reading of the PRESS 109 Policies review updates. The District maintains its policies through the PRESS service provided by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). The policies are broken down into three sections. There have been no changes since the last meeting.
Dr. Waterman presented the new dates for the 2022-2023 BOE meeting dates. Following the Board of Education Summer IASB workshop, the meeting dates for the 2022-23 school year were adjusted to the first and third Monday’s of every month. If the Monday falls on a holiday, the meeting will be moved to the following day (Tuesday).
Director of Business services, Brian Stachacz presented the change orders with Great Western Abatement for approval. During renovations there are instances when unexpected additional work is needed. When this occurs a change order is necessary. The Board approved two change orders from Great Western Abatement for removal of additional asbestos containing materials for a grand total of $82,150.
Director Stachacz presented the information requesting emergency authorization for HVAC system repair. During the course of installation of the new chiller/cooling tower at South Campus, it was discovered that an existing chiller/cooling tower, which will run in tandem with the new unit, will need several repairs, including the replacement of a compressor and technical upgrades. The board approved the emergency authorization for this repair in the amount of $190,000. This approval requires a ¾ majority of the Board of Education. (Section 105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 Exception XIV).
Director Stachacz presented the FY 2023 LTHS District 204 Tentative Budget for approval.
Director Stachacz presented the information for the 2023 Capital Projects and requested authorization to prepare bid specifications for these projects.
Dr. Waterman presented policy review and recommendations for policies 7:240 and 7:180 for a first reading. These recommendations will be brought back to the board again in September.
Director of Student Services Leslie Owens and Principal Jen Tyrrell presented updates to the LTHS 2022-2023 LTHS Handbook for approval.
The Board approved a settlement agreement, as previously discussed. This item is subject to the Illinois School Student Records Act and the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act and contains confidential information.
The Board approved the consent agenda.
Non-Agenda Related Items Public Speakers
Becky Lorentzen
Ruthann Vihon
