Action Items
Approval of the FY22 Audited Financial Statements
At the December 19 Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education approved the FY22 Annual Audit and Financial Statements as presented. The Financial Statements and Audit from Fiscal Year 2021-2022 were presented by an independent auditing firm of Eder, Casella & Co. It is worth noting that the auditors did not identify any findings, significant or otherwise, as a result of this audit. It is also worth noting that the District’s cumulative fund balance in the Operating Funds (Education Fund, Operations & Maintenance Fund, Transportation Fund, IMR/Social Security Fund and Working Cash Fund) increased by roughly $4.9 million. The majority of the surplus is directly related to revenue for the year developing favorably due to an increase in Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes.
Approval of 2022 Tax Year Tax Levy
At the December 19 Board of Education Meeting, the Board approved the final FY22 Tax Levy. The process of adopting a tax levy includes approval of an estimated levy by the Board of Education at the November meeting, then final approval at the December meeting. The Board held a public hearing prior to adoption of the final levy at the December 19 Regular Action Meeting.
Based upon the CPI increase of 5.0% over the 2021 Tax Levy, District 204 can expect $3,659,169 of additional property taxes from existing properties. Additionally, if a new property value of $50,000,000 was added to the tax rolls, LTHS could expect to receive an additional$1,077,103 from those properties. However, since the District does not currently know the value of new property, the District must estimate the amount of taxes attributable to that value. Based on the above information, the total aggregate levy, including all funds of $80,624,032 for the estimated FY22 Tax Levy represents a 6.28% increase over the prior year actual extension, for all funds, of $75,862,004.
Approval of the FY23 Property Tax Relief Grant Levy
At the December 19 Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education approved submission of the Property Tax Relief Grant Application for FY23 to the Illinois State Board of Education. If District 204 was awarded a grant, it could provide up to $2.98 million of property tax relief to the LT community in the 2022 and 2023 Tax Years in order to receive $1.3 million of grant money from the state in each of those years. After the two years of mandatory property tax relief, the Board of Education would have to decide on how to proceed in future tax years beginning with the 2024 Tax year.
Approval of Supplemental Tax Levy
At the December 19 Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education approved the resolution authorizing a supplemental tax levy to pay the principal of and interest on outstanding limited bonds of Township High School District Number 204, Cook County, Illinois.
Prior to 2009, school districts were not allowed to increase the tax levy in the Bond &
Interest Fund. The amount of the annual levy in that fund was the same amount as the last year prior to the implementation of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law and it could not be increased.
In 2009 however, the Local Government Debt Reform Act of the State of Illinois allowed taxing
bodies the ability to increase the tax levy in the Bond & Interest Fund by the lesser of 5% or the
Consumer Price Index in December of the prior year. In December of 2021, the CPI was 7% but since we are capped at a 5% increase, District 204 can increase last year’s tax levy in the Bond & Interest Fund by 5.0%.
The District’s Bond & Interest levy for Tax Year 2021 was $2,575,605. The 5.0% increase allows
for an additional $128,780 to be added to the levy for Tax Year 2022, bringing the total proposed 2022 levy in the Bond & Interest Fund to $2,704,385.
When the District sold bonds in December of 2013 and January of 2014, the debt payment schedule assumed that a CPI increase would be added to the levy every year until the bonds were paid in full in the year 2022.
It is required to be a separate resolution from that of the general tax levy.
Approval of Abbey Paving Change Order
At the December 19 Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education reviewed a construction change order with Abbey Paving and Sealcoating Co, Inc. Abbey Paving is the company that completed the work at the South Campus parking lot last summer. The contract with Abbey Paving included a $50,000 allowance to address unknown issues during the project. That allowance was used and the final Change Order increases the total amount of the contract by $5,805.85. The original contract amount was $418,000 and the final amount, including this Change Order will be $423,805.85.
Consideration and Discussion of Potential Sale of Willow Springs Property
At the December 19 Regular Action Meeting, the Board of Education approved a resolution authorizing the sale by sealed bid, including terms and conditions, of approximately 70 acres of real estate located at 7900 Willow Springs Road in Willow Springs.
This action item followed a public discussion at the December 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting, and input received from the community through an on-line submission form that is available at www.ltwillowspringsproperty.org.
Following the approval of the resolution and terms and conditions, the next steps will be for the Board to publish notice of the sale for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, as well as online. Following the publication period, the Board will collect the bids via a sealed bid process, which is one of the legally permissible methods for an Illinois school district to sell property. Following the opening of the sealed bids, the Board will consider approving a winning bid at the January regular action meeting.
Discussion Items
District 204 Demographic Trends and Enrollment Projections Report
At the December 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting, the District 204 Demographic Trends and Enrollment Projections Report as prepared by John D. Kasarda, PH.D., a consulting demographer, completed in August 2022 was discussed. The complete document is a 68-page report that begins with a review of housing development and demographic dynamics for the area as a whole. Then, Dr. Kasarda examined the effects of those dynamics and student migration/transfer patterns on enrollment changes within LT’s associate schools.
Dr. Kasarda then projected future 8th grade enrollment, by year, through 2035-36. Finally, he analyzed recent student migration and transfer data for LTHS and compared it to the associate school projections to predict enrollment projections for LT through 2036-37.
The projections are presented in three series based on assumptions about local births, new residential development, turnover of existing housing, and resulting migration of families with preschool and school age children.
- Series A assumes future new residential development and housing turnover is less than currently anticipated.
- Series B assumes future new residential development and housing turnover occurs as currently anticipated.
- Series C assumes future new residential development and housing turnover is greater than currently anticipated.
Ultimately, the enrollment report concludes that LT’s total projected enrollment for Series A would fall in the range of 3,418 to 3,824. In Series B, the total projected enrollment would fall in the range of 3,736 to 3,905. And, in Series C, the total projected enrollment would fall in the range of 3,936 to 4,315.
Strategic Plan Update
During the December 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting, the leadership team
shared an update regarding Goal Four and Goal Five of the strategic plan. The update
included a brief overview of the Scorecard and Action Plans for each of these goals. In addition to the overview, several highlights of specific areas within each of the goals were shared.
- Goal Three (High Quality, Diverse Staff)
- Update to Hiring Practices and Partnerships with Colleges/Universities
- Evolution of Professional Learning for Employee Workgroups
- Early Dismissal and Late Start Focus Areas (2022-23)
- Early Dismissal and Late Start Focus Areas (2022-23)
- Goal Four (Family and Community Partnerships)
- Community Engagement Events (Fall, 2022)
- Associate School Articulation Efforts
Superintendent’s District Report
At the December 21 Regular Action Meeting, Superintendent Brian Waterman provided the following information and celebrations during his report:
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Dr. Waterman introduced LT Community Advisory Council Chair, Shelley Taylor, who presented the consensus feedback from the most recent LTCAC meeting on November 9. Specifically, the Advisory Council reviewed an overview of the results from the facilities survey that was administered to our community in September, and provided feedback on priorities as it relates to future facilities projects. To review the consensus feedback, as well as additional information regarding the LT Community Advisory Council, please click here.
- Dr. Waterman congratulated LTHS Director of Student Services, Leslie Owens, for successfully defending her dissertation, which is titled, “An Exploration of Superintendent’s Understanding and Application of Evidence-based Funding Principles”.
- Dr. Waterman shared an outstanding gift that District 204 recently received from the estate of former LTHS staff member, Marilynn Pavlik. Marilynn taught Spanish and served as Assistant Division Chair for Fine Arts at LTHS and retired in 1992. Following her passing in March, 2022, her estate is making contributions and LTHS is a beneficiary of her generosity in the form of a $250,000 donation to LTHS students. Based on her wishes, the funds will be used to develop a scholarship, in her name, and will be awarded to eligible students who have completed four years of a high school world language program, is a member of a high school language honor society, and who intends to major in world language education at a four year university in Illinois.
- Dr. Waterman presented the 2nd Quarter Vita Plena Award to North Campus Associate Principal, Kevin Brown. Kevin started at LT July, 2009, and has been the Associate Principal at North Campus throughout his career here. In the years prior to joining LT, Kevin also served as an Assistant Principal at York High School and Kankakee High School, and as a Math Teacher at Kankakee High School. Kevin graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Education degree and undoubtedly served and supported countless students and staff throughout his career, including here at LT. Congratulations to Kevin Brown, 2nd Quarter Vita Plena Award Recipient!
- Dr. Waterman thanked the students, staff, parents/guardians, community members, and Board of Education for a successful 1st semester, and wished everyone a Happy Holidays!
Student Representative to the Board Report
At the December 21 Regular Action Meeting, Student Representative Matthew Walsh shared a variety of updates regarding athletics and extracurriculars including:
- Boy’s Bowling won the championship of the Glenbrook North Invitational on December 10th.
- Boy’s Diving brought home first place at the Barrington relays on December 10th.
- The Junior-Varsity Cheer Team placed 5th, qualifying them for the ICCA championship in Springfield.
- The Varsity Competitive Cheer took home 2nd place at the Marion Cathiloc invitational, also qualifying them for the ICCA Championship in Springfield.
- LT Wrestling had a very successful week, with the Seniors and Freshman placing 3rd at the Lincoln-Way Central Tournament on Dec. 17th and JV placing 2nd at the Tinley Park Tournament
- The Special Olympics Gold Team, Blue Team, and White Team made LT proud with their outstanding performances on December 1st vs Hinsdale South.
- Clubs such as the ASL club, BMCC, German club, Board Games club, and many more have been continuing to meet and getting ready to wrap up the first semester.
- Students are starting to get ready for Winter Break, but before that, all students are taking final exams from December 21st through December 23rd.
- Spirit Week occurred during the week of December 12 where students had different themes for the day such as Pajama Day and Tacky Tourist Day.
- The LT Actors and LT Theatre Board have been hard at work putting on their production of the play “She Kills Monsters”. Shows took place on December 16th, 17th, and 18th.
- 10 LT Students were selected as All-State Musicians for Jazz Band, Band, Choir, and Orchestra. The selected students will be going to Peoria in January to play with their respective Ensembles.
- LT Choir had their annual Fanfares and Carols Concert at the Reber Center on December 1st, with the Holiday Madrigals Concert taking place on December 8th.
- Student Council broke its record by adopting 198 kids for the annual Secret Santa. Many Clubs and Students helped make this possible.
- A Capella Club had one of their first performances at the Western Springs Theatre on Dec. 17th
- The Jazz Band hosted their Holiday concert on December 19 at 7:30pm at the Reber Center.
- 16 LT students were named Young Community Changemakers, which is a program coordinated by the Community Memorial Foundation.
LTEA Report
At the December 19 Regular Action Meeting, LT Education Association President Andrew Johannes reported that he would again like to articulate the teachers’ appreciation for the continued collaboration between the administration and teachers. This is having a positive impact and will allow LT to address concerns in order to best meet the needs of the students.
The LTEA continues to support the Strategic Plan and values the administration’s commitment to the process.
- The teachers support the collaboration around Strategic Goal 3 and finding ways to achieve a more diverse faculty while at the same time maintaining the high standards of our teachers.
- They appreciate the extra time for PLC meetings. This has made a positive impact on the students’ learning, which supports Goal 1. Teachers have time to plan effective units and develop authentic assessments. In addition, he acknowledged the hard work of our instructional coaches. Kirstin Bacon, Virginia Condon, Amy Johnson, and Deana Mancini have done a tremendous amount of work this year and should be applauded.
- In regards to Goal 4, teachers also appreciate the opportunity to be part of the associate school articulation process. This is a great opportunity to meet the needs of our students as they transition from their associate schools to LT. Maintaining a positive relationship with the larger LT school community is an essential part of our mission.
Congratulations to Director Kirsten Manthei and the theater students on their production of She Kills Monsters. The students put on great performances and should be very proud.
Congratulations to our business teachers: Michael Archibald, Julie Bryar-Smith, Natalie Carlson, Ryan Gerenstein, Greg Gerritsen, Jennifer Walker, and Krista Wilcox. They were very busy with Shark Tank, Marketing pitches, and Incubator presentations, and the students were amazing.
Christina George and Greg Gerritsen held mock trials in their Constitutional Law and Business Law classes. Jurors included staff members from LT, and they were very impressed with the students’ preparation and performances. The students continue to demonstrate their many talents.
Students showed off their culinary skills in the cake and cupcake wars. Congratulations to our culinary teachers: Brianna Basic and Martha Elliott.
Finally, Andrew thanked the Board for its continued support.
Monthly FOIA Report
Since our November meetings, we have received four FOIA requests:
- An individual submitted two requests regarding information related to the model, manufacturer, and inspection reports for the spectator bleachers at Vaughan Gym.
- A company requested information related to any contracts currently in place for vending and coffee services.
- An individual requested information related to contracts between the District 204 Board of Education and Dr. John Kasarda, Consulting Demographer.
- And, LocalLabs requested electronic records of the full name, date of birth, home address, first day of service, and whether the individual was appointed or elected, for all current Board members.
Public Participation
One individual participated in agenda or non-agenda related public participation.
- Anne Bennett (12/5 and 12/19)
