Here’s what’s going on at District 205
By Chris Fox
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on July 25 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. All seven board members attended the meeting.
Students, teams honored for achievements
• The meeting’s spotlights and recognitions segment noted the recent athletic achievements of several district students. The board recognized the York badminton program’s doubles team of senior (Class of 2023) Sasha Neidigh and junior Lindsey White. The duo earned a third-place finish in the doubles portion of the IHSA state badminton tournament in May. The board also recognized the York baseball team, which won the fourth-place trophy in the IHSA Class 4A state tournament. That tournament ended in June.
• The board also honored York senior Bria Bennis, who earned All-State recognition at the IHSA Class 3A girls state track and field meet in May. Bennis secured All-State honors with her third-place finish in the 3,200-meter run. She also earned All-State recognition with her ninth-place finish in the 1,600-meter run. In November 2022, Bennis ran to a third-place finish at the IHSA Class 3A girls state cross-country meet. She led the Dukes to the second-place trophy in the team competition at the state cross-country meet.
• The board also recognized three district students for their achievements in the Special Olympics’ softball throw competition. Peter Hickey earned the Bronze Medal in the event. Arri Villatoro Nevarez won the Silver Medal in the softball throw, while Jack Rychley achieved the highest honor in the event by winning the Gold Medal.
Public forum
• There were eight speakers during the July 25 meeting’s public comments segment. The first speaker was Daniel Hall, a York math teacher and the president of the Elmhurst Teachers’ Council (Local 571, IFT/AFT). Hall noted there were over 50 teachers present at the meeting. He said the board does a great job, and that teachers are the fabric of the community. He said teachers have a challenging job. Hall said that teachers expect the board to speak up for them when they are attacked.
• Other speakers referred to the board’s decision to include excerpts of the fiction novel “American Street” in the English curriculum for York freshmen. Some members of the district community, including Tom Chavez, have spoken at previous board meetings, reading graphic passages from the book and stating it should not be included in the curriculum.
• Some of the speakers referred to a faculty member, who they claimed was subject to bullying. They also referred to that faculty member facing disciplinary action for apparently making comments in a closed forum. As one teacher who spoke stated, “Don’t discipline someone for engaging in free speech.”
Tentative budget for 2023-24 presented
The meeting also included a presentation about the district’s tentative 2023-24 budget. Christopher Whelton, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said that the previous year’s budget (2022-23) included using $10.7 million in reserves to invest in the district’s facilities and new curriculum resources at the K-5 level.
According to Whelton, the district’s revenues exceeded the budgeted amount, while revenues were slightly less than the budgeted amount for the 2023-23 period. Whelton said those factors required the district to use only $4.8 million from its reserves, instead of the previously projected amount of $10.7 million.
He further noted that almost 91 percent of the district’s revenues come from local sources. He said property taxes provide about 83 percent of the district’s revenues.
Whelton’s presentation included a graph that showed about 67 percent of the district’s expenditures would go toward salaries and benefits. According to the presentation, the 2023-24 tentative budget indicated about $133 million in revenues for the district’s education fund. About $90.2 million of expenditures will go toward salaries and benefits. The district is projected to have 1,189.57 full-time equivalent positions in the 2023-24 school year, up from 1,174 full-time equivalent positions in the 2022-23 school year.
According to Whelton, the district ended its 2022-23 fiscal year with about $63.4 million in reserves. The district is projected to end its 2023-24 fiscal year with about $57.1 million in reserves, which he described as “an adequate amount.”
Field School poised to open in fall
Whelton also noted that the new Field Elementary School is ready to open at the start of the upcoming 2023-24 school year. He also mentioned that the district has completed all of the bond issues from the $168.5 million referendum that voters approved in 2018.
Enrollment discussed
Board member Jim Collins stated that the district’s enrollment has been flat since the 2011-12 school year. He said the district’s enrollment in 2011-12 was 8,283. He said the district’s current enrollment of 8,293 is almost identical to what it was more than 10 years ago. He said the district had 615 certified staff members in the 2011-12 school year, and noted that those staff members included teachers, as well as counselors and psychologists. Collins said the district now has 715 certified staff members, an increase of 100 since the 2011-12 school year. Stating that the board’s role is to provide oversight, he asked for an accounting in where the additional staff members had been deployed. District 205 Superintendent Keisha Campbell said she would provide Collins with additional information.
Board president Athena Arvanitis responded to Collins’ comments by saying that students’ needs are expanding and changing, and that she was cautious in tying school enrollment to staffing. Collins said the board should be aware of where resources are going. He said the district received about $119 million in property taxes in 2022-23 and expect to receive about $129 million in property taxes in 2023-24.
Donation to Foundation 205 approved
Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve a donation of an amount not to exceed $96,000 from Foundation 205 to be used to purchase 1,800 Logitech Crayon digital pencils (styluses) and charging accessories for use with Apple iPads for the district’s K-2 students.
The district will hold its next regular meeting on Aug. 22.
