By Chris Fox
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. All seven board members attended the meeting, which was the board’s final meeting of 2021.
The board recognized two winners of the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children’s “Yes, I Can” Awards at the beginning of the meeting. Paul Rosland and Franco Bibbiano, received the awards. Rosland is a student at the district’s Bridges Transition Center. Bibbiano, who is now a freshman at York High School, previously attended Bryan Middle School. The board also recognized Danielle Mitchell, a special education teacher at Hawthorne Middle School, who was recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children as an exceptional educator who has shown a passion, dedication and commitment to making a difference in the lives of the students they teach. (Photos of the two students appeared in the Nov. 25th edition of the Elmhurst Independent.)
Public forum turns to shouting
The board allowed for up to 45 minutes for public comments during the Dec. 14 meeting, up from 30 minutes allowed during recent meetings. The board also used a random generator to determine the order of speakers. The public-participation segment included comments from about 20 speakers. Several of the speakers stated their support of the district’s teachers and curriculum. A few of the speakers encouraged the board to take action against the state’s mask mandate for students. One of those speakers stated that prolonged masking is not benign and that numerous schools around the country are mask-optional.
One of the speakers during the public-participation segment was not wearing a mask. As he began to speak, several of the people in the audience told him to put a mask on. Board president Kara Caforio said the board understood that not everyone agrees with Gov. JB Pritzker’s mask mandate. She asked the speaker to put a mask on out of courtesy to the community. The speaker then appeared to put the mask on top of his head. Several audience members then continued to shout at the speaker, who was the seventh person to speak during the public-participation segment. Caforio then declared a brief recess. When the meeting resumed, another speaker addressed the board.
Schmidt deliver update on projects
The Dec. 14 meeting also included a presentation about projects related to the $168.5 million referendum of 2018. Those referendum funds are paying for several capital improvement projects, including the construction of new Field and Lincoln elementary schools. Todd Schmidt, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, provided the board with some updated figures during the presentation. Schmidt noted the escalating costs for the upcoming construction of the new Field Elementary School. That project initially had a “referendum” budget of $29 million. The estimated cost then grew to about $36.3 million. Some of that escalation is related to an increase in the scope of the project, as the board approved about 11,000 additional square feet for the new school.
After opening the recent base bids for the project to build a new Field School, the project had an estimated cost of about $38.3 million.
The referendum-related renovations at Jackson Elementary School initially had a budget of about $5.5 million. After opening recent base bids for work at that school, the cost for those renovations escalated to about $8.4 million. The renovations at Jackson also include an increased scope of work beyond what was outlined in the referendum.
According to information provided by the district, referendum projects that are in the design stage, with construction scheduled to begin in 2022, are approximately $15.7 million over their referendum budgets. Those projects include the new Field school, the renovations at Jackson, renovations at Fischer Elementary School and Jefferson Elementary School, along with improvements at the York auditorium and York’s athletic fields. Those projects had a total referendum budget of about $55.9 million. The total cost for those projects is now estimated at over $71 million—more than $15 million over the referendum budget.
District reserves to cover additional costs
The board has approved using funds from the district’s reserves to pay the additional costs of the referendum projects. Some of the increased costs are related to additional improvements beyond what was outlined at the time of the referendum. The district also stated that the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused supply-chain issues and labor shortages. Those issues could result in additional cost escalations in the district’s remaining referendum projects.
Board members Christopher Kocinski and Jim Collins noted that the district still has about $65 million of additional referendum-related projects beyond the work that will begin in 2022. They asked if the district could estimate how far over budget those projects might be. A representative from International Contractors Inc.—the district’s construction management firm, noted that the current roofing market is escalating “out of control” and stated that it’s hard to predict future costs.
York grad’s firm considered to develop strategic plan
The meeting also included a presentation from Laurie Kimbrel of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, who talked about the potential of the district working with that firm to develop a strategic plan. Kimbrel stated she was a York High School graduate, and a professor at the University of Georgia. According to information online, she is a professor at the University of West Georgia. Kimbrel said that in her role with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, she works with several school boards and districts to focus on continuous improvement.
New communications director approved
Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve the hiring of Tonya Daniels as the district’s new communications and community relations coordinator.
Campbell notes uptick in COVID-19 cases
District 205 Superintendent Dr. Keisha Campbell noted during the meeting a recent uptick of COVID-19 cases across the district’s schools. She did not mention if any of those cases resulted in a hospitalization. Campbell said the district is bound to adhere to rules set by state bodies including the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Education. Campbell noted that the district understands that parents have various perspectives and thoughts, with some parents wanting stricter rules, and others wanting less strict rules.
Campbell said about 900 of the district’s students ages 5-11 have received a COVID-19 vaccine. She said about 42 percent of York students are fully vaccinated, while about 32 percent of the district’s middle school students, and about 12 percent of its elementary students have been vaccinated. She said about 91 percent of the district’s staff members have been fully vaccinated. Campbell added that the district has regular conversations with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Board of Education and the DuPage County Health Department. She said none of those entities has provided a firm answer for a number or a date of ending the COVID-19 related mitigations.
Kocinski said he thinks it’s necessary to establish some criteria for when the mitigations, including masking in schools, would end. He said the district should push for the establishment of some criteria for when the mitigations would end. He said that if the district’s constituents think there is no end, that will cause more anxiety and uncertainty. Kocinski also noted that COVID-19 vaccinations are now available for virtually all of the district’s students.
More mask discussion; ‘there must be an off ramp,’ says Caforio
Collins stated that at least 43 states have no mask mandates in their schools, with no dire consequences in those states, and no evidence showing masks making a huge difference in combating the coronavirus. He referred to a mental health crisis among students as a result of the mask mandate. Collins asked what would happen if the district banded with other districts to oppose the state’s mitigations. Campbell said the Illinois State Board of Education would take swift action against school districts that could result in losses of state funding, lack of accreditation of graduation, and banning students from competing in IHSA athletic events.
Caforio stated there has to be an off-ramp from the state’s COVID-19 mitigations, and that the district isn’t hearing anything from the state about when the mitigations might end.
The board will hold its next regular meeting on Jan. 11, 2022.
