President Tamara Peterson called the regular meeting of the Board of Education of Bloomingdale Elementary District 13 to order on Monday, January 26, 2009 in the district office at 7:33 p.m.

Roll Call
Present: Mrs. Diane Birkley, Mrs. Fina Klco, Mr. Terence McKeown, Mr. Cary Moreth, Mrs. Linda Wojcicki, Ms. Tamara Peterson

Absent: Mr. Dr. Donald Litchfield

Others Present: Dr. Kim Perkins, Dr. Linda Schielke, Linda Segal, Mark Stamatakos, Patricia Meyer, Karen Kelly, Mike Kelly, Soma Roy, Kathy Ogden

Tax Levy Hearing
A motion was made by Mrs. Wojcicki and seconded by Mrs. Klco to open the tax levy hearing at 7:34 p.m. As no one from the audience had any questions or comments, a motion was made by Mrs. Birkley and seconded by Mrs. Wojcicki to close the hearing at 7:35 p.m.

Consent Agenda
A motion was made by Mrs. Wojcicki and seconded by Mr. McKeown to approve the items shown in the Consent Agenda to include the regular minutes from 12-15-08; the Approval of Bills in the Education Fund for $103,083.83, the Operations and Maintenance Fund for $100,511.34, the Debt Service Fund for $5,934.00, the Transportation Fund for $67,718.76, the Tort Fund for $100.00, Payroll (1-9-09) for $396,801.40 and (1-23-09) for $375,862.30 as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-1; the Fund Balance Report as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-2; the Balance Sheet as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-3; the Revenue Report as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-4; the Expenditure Report as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-5; the Activity Report as shown in F.D. 1/26/09-6; the Employment of Erica de Muir, a paraprofessional at DuJardin effective 1-5-09 for a salary of $11.05 per hour, Greg Kirchen, a special education paraprofessional at DuJardin effective 12-17-08 for a salary of $10.30 per hour; the Termination of Jan Eigenfeld a paraprofessional at DuJardin effective 12-15-08.

Roll Call Vote

Ayes: Birkley, Wojcicki, McKeown, Birkley, Klco, Moreth, Peterson
Nays: None
Motion Carried: 6 – 0

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Perkins reported that due to the additional snow day used on January 16, the calendar will be amended to reflect June 12 as the last student attendance day. Dr. Perkins shared with the Board the CPI (Consumer Price Index) for the year ending December 2008 was 0.1%. This CPI will be the tax cap for the FY11 levy.

Dr. Perkins gave the Board an update on the amended filing schedule for the petition for detachment and annexation for Chateaus of Medinah. The Regional Board of School Trustees will meet on April 6 for a final decision on this request. Dr. Perkins believes that Districts 15 and 87 will dispute the request.

Dr. Schielke gave her “On the Horizon” report which included information on M.A.P. testing. Kindergarten students took the test for the first time this week. On January 26, the Literacy Committee reviewed basal programs from two companies. Al Sparks and Cindy Rynning will present to new teachers on brain research practices January 27. The county-wide institute day is scheduled for February 27. Staff will have the option of choosing one of three activities for that day: NDSEC Connections Conference, attend a conference that closely aligns to their teaching area, or work on curriculum mapping in the district. The school improvement teams will present to the Board at its May meeting, and the ECRA Group will report its findings from the 2009 staff and student surveys at the Board’s June meeting.

Board Reports and Requests

• B.I.G. - Mrs. Birkley reported on the B.I.G. lunch meeting held Thursday, January 22. Topics discussed by the superintendents in attendance included their decision-making process for the recent snow days. The Bloomingdale Fire Department recently purchased a new ambulance. The proposed stimulus package was also a topic of conversation.
• CCTS! - Mrs. Wojcicki reported that plans are underway for the recognition breakfast in May.
• Education Foundation - No Report
• LEND – Although LEND will not meet until January 27, Mrs. Birkley reported that the executive committee met and the topics included a discussion of Arnie Duncan, the new Secretary of Education and his views on charter schools, etc.
• NDSEC - No Report

Board "Salutes"
The following people received a “salute” from one or more board members and/or the superintendent/assistant superintendent for their contributions to the Bloomingdale School District community:

• District 13 custodians George Lehky, Jorge DeLeon, Rich Baldacci, Peter Delgado, and Dennis Rouhas for their diligence in looking out for the buildings during the latest cold weather.
• Village of Bloomingdale employees Jim Monkmeyer and Ed Lewin for their coordination of moving piles of snow in the parking lots on January 19.
• DuJardin staff members Mel Vroman, Leah Mirante, Erin Quinn, Nicole Guerine, Carol Rushton, Nancy Kempf, Stefania Giusti, Sandy McGuckin, and Tammy Beebe (NDSEC employee) for the great job they did at Lorado Taft with the students during the extreme weather conditions.
• Mike Nohl, assistant building and grounds director, for making it possible for DuJardin students and staff to watch the inauguration ceremony in the IMC.
• Nanci Greene for interrupting her dinner plans to come back to the district to assist with a computer problem during the school board meeting.
• Pam Gruzynski for rearranging her schedule for tutoring to accommodate a student.

School Calendar for 2009-2010 (F.D. 1/26/09-7)
A motion was made by Mr. McKeown and seconded by Mrs. Birkley to adopt the calendar for the 2009-2010 school year as presented. Voice Vote: all ayes

Closed Session Minutes Review and Audio Tape Destruction (F.D. 1/26/09-8)
A motion was made by Mrs. Wojcicki and seconded by Mr. McKeown to approve the continued unavailability of closed session minutes, and the destruction of closed session audio tapes for the period of January 22, 2007 – June 25, 2007. Voice Vote: all ayes

Registration Fees for 2009-2010 (F.D. 1/26/09-9)
A motion was made by Mr. Moreth and seconded by Mrs. Wojcicki to approve the school fees for the 2009-2010 school year as presented and shown in F.D. 1/26/09-9.

Roll Call Vote

Ayes: Moreth, Wojcicki, Birkley, Klco, McKeown, Peterson
Nays: None
Motion Carried: 6 - 0

Building Projects Priorities List
The Board reviewed the 2009-2010 building projects priorities list for each district building as presented by Greg Leyden. The total for all items listed should come in under $300,000.

Possible Bond Sale Timelines
The Board reviewed a timeline for the issuance of debt certificates and funding bonds that was created by our investment firm, PFM (Public Financial Management). This is a four-month process beginning with the identification of projects needed and approved by the Board. Recently, the Board learned from Chapman & Cutler that our debt limit is much lower than originally thought, due to borrowing through a referendum when Erickson was built. Therefore, the district will be limited to approximately $1.5 million. However, the district still maintains an "A1" rating with Moody’s. Board members will review the list of priorities and possibly approve the list at its February meeting.

Other
Mrs. Klco shared a concern from parents that have spoken to her about class sizes at Westfield and Erickson.

For Information
Informational items included:

• December Enrollment Update
• Special Education Self-Assessment
• Chateaus of Medinah
• Phi Delta Kappan Article
• IASB Winter Dinner Meeting

Closed Session
A motion was made by Mr. McKeown and seconded by Mrs. Wojcicki to enter into closed session at 8:44 p.m. after a brief break for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the District or legal counsel for the District, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or against legal counsel for the District to determine its validity. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), as amended by P.A. 93-0057. Voice Vote: all ayes

The Board returned to regular session at 9:21 p.m.

Adjournment
A motion was made by Mrs. Klco and seconded by Mr. Moreth to adjourn the meeting. Voice Vote: all ayes

The meeting was adjourned at 9:23 p.m.

Tamara J. Peterson, President
Linda Wojcicki, Secretary