February 19, 2018

Present:  Board President Greg Robitaille, Vice President Lori Goldstein; Board Members: Cathleen Albrecht, Carol Ducommun, Keith Dronen, Marc Glucksman, Patrick O’Donoghue
Administrators:  Superintendent Paul Sally; Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Christopher Johnson; Secretary Superintendent Lou Anne Kelly; Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Peter Tragos; Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Timothy Hayes; Principal (Winnetka) Denise Dubravec; Principal (Northfield) Paul Waechtler.  

Public Comment: None

Information Items:

Student Safety (Sally): Announced had sent email to parents after Parkland, FL, school shooting, received many thoughtful emails back, will convene BOE for closed session soon to discuss security and will summarize that discussion at next Regular BOE Meeting. Emphasized that student safety is number one concern.

Report Addressing Adolescent Risk Behaviors: Health Education for Students, Staff and Parents (Tragos, Hayes, and Kinetic Wellness Faculty): Responding to Board Member Glucksman’s request at September BOE meeting, details health curriculum’s adaptiveness to trends and reports of teenage risky behavior and, as an example, an in-depth look at KW’s work to address growing teenage use of e-cigarettes.
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Winnetka Construction End of Project Summary Report (Sally, Tragos, Johnson): Reports on promises made and met by district to community about taxpayer investment in facilities, educational benefits being realized by the new space, features incorporated into building, history of recent facilities planning and proposals, history of  project from inception to completion, project budget, lessons learned during the process, and how district will finalize remaining project details (minor work, change orders still to come).  All-in cost expected to be $104.2 million. Board members lauded success of project (including in timelines, ending up very close to budget and maintaining full curriculum during construction), administration, staff and previous BOEs involved and work of Pepper Construction (construction manager) and Wight and Company (architect).

Notification of Sale of $7M in General Obligation Bonds (Johnson):  Public sale occurred January 24 of bonds approved at December BOE meeting to fund Summer 2018 facilities projects. Total debt service to be $8,163,179, which is $383,726 less than initial projection in December for a private placement.  Board members commended sense of urgency in financial staff, noted that if sale had even happened 2 weeks later total debt service would have been higher.

Treasurer’s and Financial Reports (Johnson): Snapshot reports, expect to be on budget for fiscal year.

Voting Items for BOE Members:

Scholarship Fund Allocation: After receiving report on New Trier High School Scholarship Trust Fund (501(c)(3) trust organization formed in 1949, whose trustees are the BOE members), voted on recommendation from Christopher Johnson and Myron Spiwak to approve maximum allocation ($165,438) from that fund for scholarships for Class of 2018. All voted yes.

Consent Agenda:  Bill List for January 1-31, 2018; Personnel Report (Appointments, Changes of Status, Resignations, Retirements, Stipends, Administrator’s Contract--Assistant Superintendent for Special Education); Construction Change Order #30; BOE Meeting Calendar 2018-2019.  Nothing pulled, all voted yes.

To see any documents from this meeting, click on the link below, then on Meetings (top right), then 2018 (left), then February 19, 2018, Regular Meeting of the Board of Education, then View the Agenda, then click on the document sign to the right of any agenda item: https://www.boarddocs.com/il/newtrier/Board.nsf/Public

Next Meeting:  March 19, 2018
Meeting Length:  2 hrs 6 minutes.        Observer:  Mary Lawlor