Opening day remarks

Deputy Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Bill Schmidt updated the Board of Education on student enrollment and staffing for the start of the 2026-27 school year. Overall district first-day enrollment PreK-8 is up slightly at 2,942 (2,872 first-day enrollment for the 2025-26 school year). Twenty new teachers have been hired for this school year. One certified teaching position and five support staff positions remain open.

Review of closed session minutes

Each public body shall periodically, but no less than semi-annually, meet to review minutes and recordings of all closed meetings. A determination is then made in open session that (1) the need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part of the minutes or (2) that the minutes or recordings or portions thereof no longer require confidential treatment and are available for public inspection.

The Board of Education reviewed the closed session minutes as required by School Code 5 ILCS 120/2.06 and determined that the need for confidentiality exists for all unreleased minutes with the exception of February 23, 2026 Item 2 and 3, March 16, 2026 Item 1 & 2, April 14, 2026 Item 1, June 15, 2026 Item 1 and that the recordings from the closed session minutes of October 2024 through February 2025 be destroyed.

Administrative leadership appointments

The Board of Education approved three administrative appointments for the 2026-27 school year. All three administrators are current Woodridge 68 employees who will take on new leadership roles within the district.

Sara Kash has been appointed Director of Learning Acceleration and Student Engagement, Alisa Zawodny has been appointed Principal of Edgewood Elementary School, and Bill Krefft has been appointed Dean of Students at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School.

Read more about the positions and appointments

Purchase of additional Language Power materials

The Board of Education approved a $54,200 one-time purchase of additional Language Power English Language Development materials to ensure all multilingual learners have access to the physical student texts needed for instruction. Additional copies were necessary after the district received fewer student editions than anticipated in its initial shipment.

Language Power supports academic language development across content areas and aligns with the district’s Academic Transformation Plan and instructional priorities. The purchase will be covered within the existing Teaching and Learning budget.

Hazardous crossing resolution

According to Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/29-3), all school districts that provide student transportation services must annually review any existing and identified serious safety hazards, as approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), to determine whether or not the hazardous condition still exists.

The Board reaffirmed the Serious Safety Hazard Findings, as determined by IDOT and confirmed by the Board for the 2026-2027 school year, as required by law.

Capital improvement plan projects for 2026-27

The Board of Education approved a slate of 2027 Capital Improvement Plan projects focused on maintaining and upgrading facilities across Woodridge 68. Planned work includes bathroom renovations at Sipley, Willow Creek and Murphy; new flooring in the Sipley Learning Resource Center; districtwide landscaping improvements; building automation and security alarm upgrades; and updated elementary school signage.

The district will begin planning and design work for the bathroom and flooring projects, while several other improvements will be managed in-house. The district will also continue investigating a potential battery storage system at Jefferson Junior High, with further analysis and a possible recommendation to the Board at a future date.

Discussion items

The following topics were discussed by the Board of Education. Any action has not yet been taken.

• Summer construction update
• FY27 budget update
• Architect, engineer and construction manager service proposals
• Interactive Business Systems three-year service/maintenance master agreement
• Student photography services RFP

Next meeting

The next Woodridge School District 68 board of education regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2026 at 7:30pm at the District Administrative Center. All regular Board meetings are also streamed live on the Zoom platform; links to the livestream will be posted on the district calendar. A schedule of upcoming meetings, notices and agendas are posted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/) on the district website through BoardBook.