By Chris Fox
For The Elmhurst Independent
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 27 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. Board member Karen Stuefen was absent from the meeting.
LWV salutes departing board member Harrell
The two speakers who made comments during the meeting’s public participation segment included Marsha Baker of the League of Women Voters of Elmhurst. Baker thanked outgoing board member Margaret Harrell for her dedication. Baker added that it was timely to remind the board of its relationship with the community. She said it was important for the board to be open and transparent. Baker noted that the recordings of the board meetings aren’t always easy to see and hear. She mentioned that the camera that records the meetings is at the back of the board room, and that the recordings don’t always show the information that’s projected onto the screen inside the board room.
Public speaker concerned about student mental health
The other speaker who spoke during the public participation segment is a district parent who stated that the guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic are damaging children’s mental health. He said that children are constantly afraid they will have to enter into a quarantine related to the pandemic. The speaker said it was not reasonable to put children in that position.
A salute to Margaret Harrell
Early in the April 27 meeting, the board recognized Harrell for her eight years of service on the District 205 Board. Kara Caforio, the president of the board, praised Harrell as “a teammate, a positive force for good and a great example of quiet strength.”
Harrell gave a few brief remarks before she departed from the board. She thanked the community and referred to the district’s students as “the joy and the jewel of our community.” Harrell received a standing ovation from board members and administrators as she departed from the board. She received a vase in recognition and appreciation of her eight years of service on the board.
Installing newly-elected Board members
Board member Courtenae Trautmann then administered the oath of office to the three candidates who were recently elected to four-year terms on the board. Those three candidates include two incumbents—Caforio and Jim Collins—along with one newcomer to the board—Athena Arvanitis, who is an assistant principal at New Trier High School in Winnetka. The April 6 election featured six candidates running for three available seats. Collins received the most votes—4,018. Arvanitis earned 3,807 votes, while Caforio garnered 3,362 votes.
Laurel Schrementi (2,854 votes), Gordon Snyder (2,749 votes) and T. Marie Gall (2,120 votes), placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the race for three seats on the board.
Caforio re-elected Board president
Moments after Arvanitis, Caforio and Collins took the oath, the seven-member board conducted its reorganization. Board member Christopher Kocinski nominated Caforio to continue serving as board president. Caforio was the only nominee for the position. Board member Beth Hosler nominated Kocinski to serve as vice president. Kocinski was the only nominee for that post. Caforio then nominated Trautmann to serve as the board secretary.
The board voted unanimously to approve the 2021-22 regular board meeting dates for the period between July 13, 2021 and June 14, 2022. All of the 19 regular meetings during that period will take place on Tuesday evenings and begin at 7 p.m.
York re-roofing project approved
The board unanimously approved the superintendent’s consent agenda, which included the approval of a re-roofing project that’s scheduled to take place this summer at York High School. The board approved an agreement with Weatherguard Roofing of Elgin in the amount of $1,253,400.
Issue of up to $58.5 million in bonds approved
The board also voted unanimously to approve a resolution providing for the issue of up to $58.5 million in bonds for the purpose of paying for capital projects related to the referendum approved by voters in the election of Nov. 6, 2018. In that election, voters approved the borrowing of up to $168.5 million to pay for various capital projects.
Board members noted that it is prudent to approve the bond sale now to take advantage of historically low interest rates.
The approved resolution authorizes the borrowing of up to $46.5 million in bonds related to the referendum of Nov. 6, 2018, along with $12 million related to the refunding of bonds from 2012 and 2015.
The borrowing of up to $46.5 million related to the 2018 referendum leaves the district with approximately $24 million left to borrow to reach the full amount of $168.5 million.
More updates regarding COVID-19
The April 27 meeting included an update and discussion of metrics and factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interim Superintendent Linda Yonke and Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Kevin Rubenstein noted that all district students have been offered the opportunity to return to in-person learning on a full-time basis. Additionally, about 97 percent of the district’s staff members have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Residents 16 and over became eligible for vaccines on April 12. The district recently sent information to its families about vaccines and how to schedule an appointment.
According to the district, about 200 students from York High School were to be vaccinated on Monday, April 26, and again on Monday, May 17. Those vaccinations were arranged through the district’s partnership with Lake Park High School and Jewel-Osco.
Information from the district indicates that 12 District 205 students and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 during the period from April 16 to April 22. A total of 38 district students and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 during the period from March 26 to April 8.
As of April 23, the district’s screening and testing of students and staff reportedly indicated 21 positive screens out of 9,894 samples.
Yonke: Regulations “not always logical”
Yonke noted that various COVID-19 regulations set by the DuPage County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health are not always logical. Those regulations, she said, are creating a rift between schools and parents.
To review the district’s procedures related to the coronavirus, Yonke mentioned that the district has plans to reconvene a medical panel of advisors.
Yonke also stated that the district was about to send a letter to its families reporting that the district is planning to offer full-time, all-day, in-person education during the 2021-22 school year, with full extracurricular activities planned. Yonke said the district would offer remote education for some students in special situations during the 2021-22 school year, which will begin in August. She said that district administrators believed the number of students needing remote instruction in the next school year would be very small.
Kocinski noted that the district’s board and administrators hear the frustrations from families about COVID-19 regulations. He said that there are some rules that the district must follow. Those include the regulation that a student or staff member who has COVID-19 cannot be in school. The district must also adhere to the mask mandate, and to the rule requiring students to be at least 6 feet apart while eating.
The board will hold its next regular meeting on May 11.
