President Tamara Peterson called the regular meeting of the Board of Education of Bloomingdale Elementary District 13 to order on Monday, October 27, 2008 in the district office at 7:31 p.m.

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

Absent: Mr. none

Others Present: Dr. Kim Perkins, Dr. Linda Schielke, Teachers Jan Salach, Betty Uppling, Ann Mitchell, and Bonni Rothbaum, Parent Dan Proctor, Superintendent’s Assistant Kathy Ogden

Oath of Office
President Peterson administered the Oath of Office to newly appointed Board Member Cary Moreth.

Consent Agenda
After a typographical error was noted in last month’s minutes, a motion was made by Dr. Litchfield and seconded by Mrs. Birkley to approve the items shown in the Consent Agenda to include the Regular Minutes from 9-22-08 and the Special Meeting held 10-20-08; the Approval of Bills in the Education Fund for $226,510.16, the Operations and Maintenance Fund for $111,015.12, the Debt Service Fund for $2,967.00, the Transportation Fund for $75,493.36, Payroll (10-10-08) for $397,223.42 and (10-24-08) for $398,228.23; the Fund Balance Report as shown in F.D. 10/27/08-2; the Balance Sheet as shown in F.D. 10/27/08-3; the Revenue Report as shown in F.D. 10/27/08-4; the Expenditure Report as shown in F.D. 10/27/08-5; the Activity Report as shown in F.D. 10/27/08-6; the Resignations of Kari Lonergan, a paraprofessional at DuJardin effective 10-15-08, Jennifer Poznanski, a special education paraprofessional at Westfield effective 9-26-08, Shannon Suiter, a paraprofessional at Westfield effective 10-9-08, John Thomas, a crossing guard at DuJardin effective 10-15-08; a Change of Position for Patricia Siegel, a part-time paraprofessional at DuJardin to full-time paraprofessional at DuJardin effective 10-6-08, Judy Wagner, a special education paraprofessional at Westfield to general education paraprofessional at Westfield effective 10-14-08; the Employment of Dawn Percudani, a crossing guard at DuJardin effective 8-27-08 for a starting salary of $10.05 per hour.

Roll Call Vote

Ayes: Litchfield, Birkley, Klco, McKeown, Moreth, Wojcicki, Peterson
Nays: None
Motion Carried: 7 – 0

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Perkins shared discussions held with the Lake Park Associate Districts regarding a change in the start date for school next year. Lake Park has tentatively agreed to move the start date for their students back one week. This would bring District 13’s start date closer to the high school’s, provided we move our’s up one week. The Board discussed a tentative start date for students of August 19. The teachers’ union had expressed their desire to leave the start date status quo. The Board typically adopts the school calendar in January.

The Board discussed Dr. Perkins’ preliminary research on full-day kindergarten programs. He shared that districts do not receive any extra state funds for full-day programs. This would be a significant cost factor for District 13. Staffing and availability of space is a consideration as well. In order to offer a full-day kindergarten program, districts must offer half-day programs as well. Dr. Perkins was asked to check with principals on any feedback they have received regarding the implementation of full-day kindergarten.

Dr. Schielke’s “On the Horizon” report included information on the meeting for the parents of accelerated students. Forty-five parents from the elementary schools and twenty-five from Westfield were in attendance. Presenters Nancy Green, Pam Gruzynski, and Dr. Schielke were pleased with the response from parents. Dr. Schielke also shared information on upcoming events that will be devoted to differentiation and curriculum mapping. Differentiation specialist Kate Ahlgren will meet with teachers on October 28. The early release time on November 5 will be dedicated to curriculum mapping. Dr. Schielke stated that there is staff frustration regarding the Lake Park curriculum mapping software currently being used. Staff will be asked to develop a criteria list, and she will look at outside products to see what best fits our needs.

Citizen’s Request to Board
Dan Proctor, parent of DuJardin and Westfield students shared his views on the timetable for the exploratory programs at Westfield. He is of the opinion that the six-week rotation period should be expanded to nine weeks. Although Mr. Proctor did not stay for the Board discussion, Dr. Shielke shared that Dr. Kling is looking into what can be done with the exploratory program.

Board Reports and Requests

• B.I.G. - Mrs. Wojcicki, Ms. Peterson, and Mrs. Birkley agreed to share duties of Board representation to B.I.G. lunch/meetings.
• CCTS! - Mrs. Wojcicki expressed her disappointment for the decline in attendance for this year’s CHARACTER COUNTS! celebration.
• Education Foundation - The beer and wine tasting event was a success bringing in $3200 in donations. The Foundation is discussing the idea of hosting a casino night for next year’s fundraiser.
• LEND – Mrs. Birkley reported on the September 23rd meeting of LEND. Carol Auer, Superintendent of Keeneyville 20 shared information on proposed HB 6660 on Wind Turbine Farms. A rally for Wind Farm Alliance is planned for October 28 at Lake Park High School’s west campus. Another topic discussed was the AASA proposal, “All Children Will Learn”, which addresses a number of concerns pertaining to the No Child Left Behind Act. Congratulations to Mrs. Birkley for being asked to serve on LEND’s executive board.
• NDSEC - Dr. Litchfield shared his concerns for the decrease in special education funding the district is experiencing. Funding for special education has decreased $21,000 over the last two years. Dr. Perkins referenced the ISBE Special Education Expenditure and Receipts Summary Report, which outlines the various sources from which we receive reimbursements.

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:

• Board Member Linda Wojcicki and Westfield students Kailin Haugh, Ruth Garippo, Delaney Thompson, and Bridget O’Halloran for assisting with the Education Foundation clothes recycling drive
• Board Member Diane Birkley for being asked to serve on the executive board of the Legislative Education Network of DuPage (LEND)
• Westfield student Krystal Wojcik who came in during the summer to help Mrs. Fennell assemble the Westfield faculty handbooks
• Westfield eighth grade student Vince Anemone for turning in a wallet with money he found on the bus
• Erickson fourth grade student Sabrina Twardzik for helping to raise funds for autism awareness
• Janis Prehn for her work on the Management and Discussion Analysis in the 2008 audit
• Cheryl Woehrle for her work to correct Flex Plan errors benefiting a dozen employees
• Greg Leyden and his maintenance/custodial team for the excellent school inspection report from the ROE
• Debbie Kling for the implementation of the online parent/teacher conference sign-up at Westfield.

Other
Ms. Peterson shared that she had received a certificate of appreciation for Dr. Perkins from the Illinois Association of School Administrators acknowledging his service on the IASA-ISBE Advisory Committee.

State Library Grant (F.D. 10/27/08-7)
A motion was made by Dr. Litchfield and seconded by Mrs. Wojcicki to approve the application for a School Library Grant, and authorize the President, Superintendent, and Assistant Superintendent to sign said application. Voice Vote: 7 – 0

The district will receive $924 from this year’s grant.

Intergovernmental Agreement with Village of Bloomingdale (F.D. 10/27/08-8)
This agenda item was tabled until receipt of the signed agreement from the Village of Bloomingdale.

AASA Resolution “All Children Will Learn” (F.D. 10/27/08-9)
A motion was made by Mrs. Birkley and seconded by Mr. McKeown to approve the Resolution “All Children Will Learn” presented by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), authorize the President and Secretary to sign said resolution, and direct the Superintendent to mail it to the district’s representatives in the U.S. Congress. Voice Vote: all ayes

Resolution to Honor Patricia Bach (F.D. 10-27-08-10)
A motion was made by Mrs. Wojcicki and seconded by Mrs. Klco to approve the resolution of thanks to Mrs. Bach. Voice Vote: all ayes

Resolution to Support HB 6660 Wind Turbine Farms (F.D. 10/27/08-11)
A motion was made by Mrs. Birkley and seconded by Mrs. Wojcicki to approve the Resolution to Support HB 6660 Wind Turbine Farms, and authorize the President to sign said resolution. Voice Vote: all ayes

Preliminary FY10 Budget
The Board reviewed the proposed budget for 2009-2010 as presented by Janis Prehn. Preliminary figures indicate that the district’s tax rate will go down. We are projecting a 2.1 tax rate and a CPI of 4.1%. A public tax levy hearing and adoption of the tax levy will be held at the December 15th Board of Education meeting Mrs. Birkley expressed her appreciation for the continued effort by Mrs. Prehn to explain the district’s financial status through her clear and concise documentation.

Annual Audit
The Board reviewed the annual audit report for the year ending June 30, 2008.
For the fifth straight year, the district has achieved a 4.0 financial recognition status. Our ending balance, which was a combination of all funds, totaled approximately $11 million. Kudos to Janis Prehn for her Management’s Discussion & Analysis portion of the audit.

First Reading of Board Policy 4:55 (Credit Card Usage)
Due to changes in legislation, it is necessary to revise our credit card usage policy for staff members that are authorized. The Board had its first reading of Policy 4:55. The Board also reviewed the accompanying administrative procedures policy and proposed cardholder’s statement.

Research and Information Data Service Contract
Dr. Perkins shared information from the ECRA Group regarding a data research and information service they provide called ECRA Collaborative Research and Information Service Solution (ECRISS). ECRA would house all of our data from student achievement results and surveys administered. ECRA would provide an information service to us that would assist in our research-based decision-making using our data with the assistance of content experts the company is in partnership with. (ECRA is the only company that has its own consultants.) Dr. Perkins is recommending a base subscription of 100 research hours. He provided the names of three school districts currently contracting with ECRA, all of which had very positive comments to share. Dr. Perkins will bring this item to the Board at its November meeting as an action item.

For Information
Informational Items Included:

• Thank-you from ROE regarding student artwork
• Lake Park Associate Districts State School Report Card Data
• Enrollment Update
• Westfield Activities
• ROE Inspection
• Friends of Lake Park Breakfast
• NDSEC Profile
• ISBE Special Ed Expenditures & Receipts Summary

Other
The Board discussed plans for the upcoming Triple I Conference in Chicago, November 21-23.

Closed Session
A motion was made by Mrs. Wojcicki and seconded by Mrs. Klco to enter into closed session after a brief recess at 9:20 p.m. 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 9:48 p.m.

Adjournment
A motion was made by Mr. Moreth and seconded by Mrs. Klco to adjourn the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:49 p.m.

Tamara J. Peterson, President
Linda Wojcicki, Secretary