January 22, 2018

Present:  Board President Greg Robitaille, Vice President Lori Goldstein; Board Members: Cathleen Albrecht, Keith Dronen, Marc Glucksman, Patrick O’Donoghue Absent:  Carol Ducommun
​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:
Construction Update (Christopher Johnson): Current state of Winnetka construction.  Mostly weather-related items still open, still in final negotiations with subcontractors.
Bond Issuance for Summer 2018 Project (Christopher Johnson):  Public sale recommended by Raymond James over private sale, to occur this week.  Moody’s gave District an unqualified Aaa rating, highest possible rating.
Village of Winnetka Stormwater Project and Duke Childs Fields: Ad hoc committee to be formed to work with Village of Winnetka on its stormwater plan at Duke Childs; opportunity for District to make changes to fields if it so desires.
Village of Winnetka Consideration of Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District (Christopher Johnson and Guest Speaker, Christopher Rintz, Village of Winnetka President, speaking informally, not on behalf of Village):  Rintz spoke informally to Board about Village’s potential plans for a TIF district to fund Village infrastructure; if formed, it would have implications on District 203 revenue.  Johnson made suggestions about how District could reduce impact on revenue if it occurs.  Much discussion on how TIF financing works, implications for District, potential steps to minimize impact.
2018-2019 Administrative Structure  (Paul Sally): New administrative organizational charts for next school year revealed.  Includes a new Asst. Supt. of Special Education position (instead of current Director of Special Education, which is currently filled on an interim basis by 2 individuals), for which there is a search process currently underway. Raising this position to the Asst. Supt. level intended to give Special Education a voice at table for all planning/analysis. Also includes a reorganization of Winnetka campus leadership (not an increase in administration, but a consolidation/redistribution of responsibilities). Board Member O’Donoghue requested that chart include full time equivalents (FTE) in chart so Board has an idea how many people work in different areas covered by chart, to better understand where dollars are allocated in budget process.
Board Annual Planning Cycle and Foundations of Strategic Planning (Paul Sally): Starting 1) new process of annual plan for setting goals/evaluating progress of Superintendent and District and 2) development of a new long-term strategic plan, which hasn’t been done since 2005-2010 strategic plan. Board discussion considered whether new annual plan process is needed (i.e., may be redundant with annual reports already called for in District Calendar), or an important bringing together of different pieces in a more coherent process. No Board Member objected to starting annual new process, but open to tweaking it if redundancies emerge. New annual plan process not formally adopted, but may be adopted after assessing its usefulness. Next steps for long-term plan are to engage a strategic consultant and establish a core committee (including staff, board community, students), with hope to revisit not reinvent earlier plan.
Treasurer’s and Financial Reports (Christopher Johnson): Snapshot reports, expect to be on budget for fiscal year.
Budget Assumptions for 2018-2019 Fiscal Year (Christopher Johnson): Update of budget assumptions/parameters to inform development of next fiscal year’s budget, which is starting now and ultimately to be approved July/August. Discussion focused on specifics of various assumptions and how software District uses has informed process.

Voting Items for BOE Members:

Budget Calendar and Authorizing Administration to begin Budgeting Process for 2018-2019 Fiscal Year:  All present voted yes (Ducommun absent).
2018/2019 School Calendar:  All present voted yes (Ducommun absent). As approved: http://newtrier.k12.il.us/Calendars/School_Year_Calendars/School_Year_Calendar_2018-2019/
Consent Agenda:  Bill List for December 1-31, 2017, Personnel Report, Construction Change Order #29, Alltown Transportation Contract Extension, Closed Session Records Review.  All present voted yes (Ducommun absent).
To see any documents from this meeting, click on the link below, then on Meetings (top right), then 2018 (left), then January 22, 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:  February 19, 2018
Meeting Length:  2 hrs 4 minutes.        Observer:  Mary Lawlor