By Chris Fox
The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. Six of the board’s seven members attended the meeting. Board member Karen Stuefen was absent from the meeting.
Field, Sandburg students recognized
The spotlights and recognitions segment of the meeting included brief presentations from Field Elementary School Principal Heidi Thomas and Sandburg Middle School Principal Linda Fehrenbacher. In her presentation, Thomas read comments from some of Field’s current fifth-grade students who are spending the current school year at Sandburg, while the new Field building is under construction. Those students, who will attend Sandburg as sixth-graders in the 2023-24 school year, gave positive statements about attending Sandburg one year early.
Fehrenbacher’s presentation noted some recent highlights at Sandburg, including a regatta that took place at York High School’s pool in December. Fehrenbacher related that more than 100 students designed and modeled boats that were used in the regatta. Fehrenbacher, who noted that the current school year is her final year at Sandburg, said that having Field students at Sandburg during the current school year “has enriched all our lives.”
Speech team honored for state championship
The meeting’s spotlights and recognitions segment also honored York High School’s speech team. Several team members won an IHSA state championship for their Performance in the Round piece, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” at the IHSA state speech event in February. The first-place performance marked the York speech team’s first IHSA in the state speech meet. York’s Performance in the Round cast at the state meet included: Eloise Hill, Oliver Roy, Elle Kramer, Will Fischer, Gio Santoro, Noley Hanna, Alexa Klein, Luke Hanley, Jack Davies, Charlie Matias, Sam Yungmann and Tara Freund.
Other York students who qualified for and competed at the state meet included: David Izzo (fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking), Aidan Espinosa (fourth in Original Comedy), Andrea Alcaraz (seventh in Special Occasion Speaking) and Nico Thoresen (a state qualifier in Humorous Interpretation).
York teacher receives regional award
The board also honored Wendy Albert, a family and consumer science instructor at York, who was recently named the Technology Center of DuPage Career and Technical Education (CTE) Regional Instructor of the Year.
Public forum
Five people spoke during the meeting’s public participation segment. Tom Chavez, who is a candidate to serve on the District 205 Board in the upcoming election, was one of the five speakers. He said the district’s parents are concerned about data regarding student proficiency in math and English. He said the district compares its students’ proficiency to state averages. He described those state averages as “horrendous.” He said the district presenting its students’ proficiency as exemplary and commendable is a mischaracterization.
Proposals presented for staffing, written materials for ’23-’24
The meeting included a presentation about staffing proposals for the 2023-24 school year. According to District 205, the district has 707.45 full-time equivalent (FTE) certified positions during the current school year. The district is proposing 709.14 FTE certified positions for the 2023-24 school year.
Regarding non-certified positions, the district is proposing 166 educational assistant positions for the 2023-24 school year, 10 technology assistant positions, 32.09 school secretary positions, 88 custodial positions and as many as 10 campus supervisor positions.
District 205 Superintendent Keisha Campbell said the district is frequently analyzing student data, looking at academic supports and monitoring staffing allocations. Campbell said the district was requesting a cushion of three to five FTE positions, based on enrollment trends.
The meeting also included a presentation about the selection and adoption of instructional materials for the 2023-24 school year. The board will vote to approve the district’s recommendations at the April 25 meeting. The recommendations are available for public inspection on the district’s web site at elmhurst205.org. and at the District 205 Center through Friday, April 21.
Bus transport contract extended
Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve an extension in the district’s contract with First Student, Inc., for regular bus transportation services for the 2023-24 school year. The agreement calls for a 12 percent increase from the current school year. The increase is reportedly due to several factors, including driver wages, gas prices, fixed costs and an increase in insurance rates. The district is projecting to pay First Student $3.6 million during the current school year. The 12-percent increase would result in the district paying First Student over $4 million during the 2023-24 school year.
Board members also voted unanimously to approve a contract extension with Cottage Hill for bus transportation for special education students during the 2023-24 school year. As with the extension with First Student, the extension with Cottage Hill calls for a 12-percent increase from the current school year to the 2023-24 school year. The 12-percent increase would result in an increase of about $202,000, from $1.678 million during the current school year to about $1.88 million in the 2023-24 school year.
Student fees approved for ’23-’24; increases minimal
The board voted unanimously to approve student fees for the 2023-24 school year. The fees for students in Early Childhood through eighth grade will remain the same as the rates from the current school year. The York student fees for student activities will rise from the current charge of $20 to $25. The cost for printed transcripts will rise from $4 to $5, while the cap and gown fee will rise from $29 to $30. There won’t be any changes to athletic fees. The Chromebook price for incoming freshmen will rise from the current fee of $407 to $433 for the 2023-24 school year.
The board will hold its next regular meeting on April 25.
