Glen Ellyn School District 41 Glen Ellyn School District 41
August 20, 2008

Glen Ellyn School District 41 Mission: It is the mission of District 41 to advocate for students enabling each one to optimize his/her potential within a culture of continuous improvement.

Board Members: Terra Costa Howard President | John Kenwood Vice President | Erica Nelson Secretary | Kevin Cosgrove | John Vivoda | Steven Vondrak| Robert Solak
Following is a summary of the Board of Education meeting held on August 11, 2008.   D41 began audio recording Board of Education meetings starting with the August 11 meeting. Henceforward, the MP3 files will be posted on www.d41.org   Minutes are posted once approved.
BOARD ADOPTS BUDGET
The Board of Education (BOE) adopted the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget following a public hearing. By law, the BOE must adopt the annual budget no later than Sept. 30. The $43,819,477 document was developed in light of a year-long planning process and plans expenditures from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Major categories of expenditures include school maintenance, curricular materials, supplies, equipment, and salaries and benefits as well as reserve funds needed to maintain consistent operations in case of emergencies, delays or decreases in state funding and other unexpected events. The budget is a spending plan, and the BOE may discuss, review and amend expenditures during the course of the year, with Board action required for single expenditures of more than $10,000. The budget and budget presentation are posted HERE		 NEXT MEETING
The BOE will conduct its annual retreat on Sunday, Aug. 17, 9:00 a.m. and Monday, Aug. 18, at 5:00 p.m.

The next regular meeting will be Sept. 15, 7:30 p.m. at Central Services.
ADMINISTRATION MONITORING ENROLLMENT, STAFFING
Superintendent Dr. Ann Riebock explained that as the first day of school approaches, the district monitors enrollment constantly as students move in and out of the district. The goal is classes that are balanced, meet individual learner needs and are close to target size ranges. These ranges are guidelines only and class sizes will depend on actual enrollment numbers and distribution. Kindergarten through Grade 2 targets are 20-22; Grade 3 is 23-25; grades 4-5 is 25-27. At this point, the district has added one half-day Kindergarten section at two schools to accommodate enrollment; other classes are close to or within target ranges.


MASTER FACILITIES PLANNING CONTRACT DISCUSSED
The district has been anticipating conducting a Master Facilities Planning Process since shortly after the 2007 facilities referendum was defeated. With the preparatory pieces now in place, the BOE is reviewing a contract for the work with the district architects, FGM and Associates. The planning process will extend over 10 months and include significant public engagement. The goal is to create a facilities solution that supports the district’s educational vision. The foundational work that has taken place in the last 18 months includes:
  • Development of the Long-Range Plan, which lays out work in three goal areas—student achievement, finances and stakeholder relations.
  • The BrainSpaces Space Utilization Study, which documents space use, verified space challenges and offered some recommendations.
  • The Safety and Security audit, which includes recommendations on keeping the district’s students, staff and aging buildings safe in today's environment.
  • The Stormwater study, which provides information on the capacity of district campuses.
  • Program work, including evaluations of Gifted Services, English as a New Language, Hadley Exploratory, and Special Education. The Hadley New Horizons organizational improvement work may also have facility implications.
  • The 2008 Vision Project, which defines community expectations for education which the facilities must support.

Since 2001, part of the district’s solution to space needs has been portable classrooms; currently, the district has 32 such classrooms. The approximately $80,000 Master Facilities Planning contract includes data collection, preparation of alternative plans and a public engagement process. The BOE is expected to take action on the contract in September.


POLICY FOR EARLY KINDERGARTEN ADMISSION APPROVED
For some months, the BOE Policy Committee has been looking at an early Kindergarten admission policy. Up to now, the district has followed state law without exception, requiring students to be five years old by Sept. 1 of the year they enroll in school. The BOE approved a change to Board Policy 7:50 that may allow admission of children who will be five during the month of September if they follow an application process and are assessed by district personnel and found to be ready from an academic, social, emotional and physical standpoint. Costs for readiness assessment will be the parents’ responsibility. Approval for early Kindergarten admission will also depend on available space. The BOE reviewed a first draft at its Aug. 11 meeting and approved the policy change at its retreat on Aug. 18.


STATE TO RESCORE ISATS
Illinois public schools are awaiting final and verified results from the 2008 Illinois Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT), Dr. Riebock told the BOE. Unusual swings in scores statewide prompted officials to call in an independent auditor and ultimately to rescore the tests. The state is still expecting to meet the deadline of Oct. 31 for dissemination of the School Report Cards, which are based on ISAT data. The ISATs measure achievement against learning standards for what students should know and be able to do, and the results measure school compliance to the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB). Results are reported at the district, school and grade level, as well as by the nine subgroups. Each year, the percentage of students required to meet standards increases, with all students expected to meet standards in reading and math by 2014. If all subgroups in a school meet that year’s benchmark, the school has made “Adequate Yearly Progress,” or AYP. Schools which do not make AYP for two years begin a process of formal school improvement and may be subject to other sanctions if improvement is not made.


VISION DRAFT TO GO TO BOE
Following the 2008 Vision Project workshop sessions that took place in May and June, a small writing team has drafted a Vision, Mission and Values statement for BOE review and input. The BOE will discuss the document at its upcoming retreat, with the expectation of adopting a final statement in September.
Please direct your questions or comments to our Communications Director, Julie Worthen at jworthen@d41.org. We ask that you do not reply directly to this email. Thank you!
Glen Ellyn School District 41