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The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting on Thursday, September 19th. You can watch or listen to a meeting replay on our YouTube page.
Tour of Lincoln Construction Projects
The School Board joined District Admin and examined the progress of Lincoln Phase 1. You can view photos from the Board’s tour and read more about Phase 1 by clicking here. Phase 1 at Lincoln is a different project than the $89.1 million bond referendum on the November 5th, 2024 ballot. Phase 1A started at Lincoln during the summer of 2024.
Adoption of District Budget for 2024-2025
Motion Approved
Chief School Business Official Dr. Adam Parisi gave a presentation on the budget, which can be viewed by clicking here. He highlighted that, by ISBE definition, we have a balanced budget with $100.4 million in revenues and $104.5 million in expenditures. As we look at our future finances, some challenges that were brought up included the referendum and master facilities plan, sunsetting full-day kindergarten tuition, monitoring staffing, and increasing the capital projects budget.
“Let me add one thing because this has come up quite a bit during our referendum presentations,” said Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins. “There is no scenario that we see where we don’t have hard decisions in the future, regardless of what happens with a referendum.”
“If a referendum passes, it certainly puts us in a different position, but even in that circumstance, you still have to move about 2% of our current budget into that long-term piece,” said Dr. Collins, talking about the District’s recently published long-term plan. “Our estimate right now is about $4 million per year going in there to set us up well for the future, and that's not coming from any spot other than what you see before you. We have to make up that portion somehow.”
While repair costs would decrease in the future if the referendum passes, more money needs to be allocated to maintaining the updated facilities to prevent them from failing all at once, as is currently the case.
“We're going to have a lot of conversations that are ongoing from the administrative level that we will then bring to the Board with how we can make that happen and work,” said Dr. Collins. “Also, I am just thinking about our long-term goals as a school district so that our academic progress can continue to grow. It's not easy. I think this is a long-term conversation, but I'd rather talk about it now so that we can do everything possible to do right by our community and our staff and students.”
Resolution #1348 to Appoint Trustee of Schools
Motion Approved
Student Achievement Update
Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning Dr. Samantha Alaimo gave a student achievement update and shared a snapshot of early childhood data up to 8th grade.
You can read the Spring 2024 Student Achievement Update Memo or the Student Achievement Update Presentation.
Our District student achievement goals for 2024-2025 are:
-Kindergarten and Grade 1 Early Reading and Math Assessments: 80% or more of students will reach proficiency with skills.
-IAR: 60% or more of students in Grades 3-8 will meet or exceed state standards.
-MAP Achievement: Goals are an average of three years of pre-pandemic Spring data.
-MAP Growth: A growth rate at the 50th percentile is expected. A growth rate above the 50th percentile is above average.
-MAP Tier I Performance: 80% or more of students will be above the 40th percentile.
24-25 Goals to Consider:
- 50% of middle school students will meet growth targets in the area of Reading.
- 60% of grades 2-8 students will meet growth targets in the area of Reading.
“You saw this theme last year, and it remains true. We have high-achieving students in our District, and we still do,” said Dr. Alaimo. “We’re so proud that our teachers are doing a fabulous job of keeping that rigor alive. However, growth is still our focus for this year and will continue to be, especially as we have those newfound goals for ourselves as administrators and teachers.”
Open Enrollment and Staffing Report
Dr. Joel Martin, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, gave an update on the District enrollment. As of August 31, 2024, District 64’s K-8 student enrollment is 4,429, a decrease of 36 students from the 2023-2024 school year. Read more about the District’s enrollment and staffing.
Read the full recap of the Board meeting here on our website.
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