President Laurel DiPrima called the business meeting of the Board of Education of November 18, 2004, to order at 7:30 p.m. Board members present: Rich Benson, Rosemary Grier, Cindy Koerner, Joe Leane, and Sue Ramstedt. Absent: John Abrams.

President DiPrima announced that Item VIe. NSSEO Procedural Question would be added to the agenda and that the order of the agenda would be changed to
hear the Annual Financial Report first.

• Heard a report on the annual financial audit from Betsy Allen of Bark Associates, LTD. The Board accepted the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004.
• Approved the minutes of the October 21, 2004, meeting.

Items of Public Interest

• District 57 will have four open seats for the April 5, 2005, school board election. Nominating petitions may be filed with the board secretary January 18 - 25, 2005.
• Board member Rich Benson has received the National School Boards Association Award for distinguished Service to Public Education. This recognition is given to approximately 1% of the nation’s 95,000 school board members for demonstrating the highest commitment to public education through school board leadership. Superintendent Brown congratulated and thanked Member Benson for his outstanding service to District 57.
• The IASB/IASA/IASBO Joint Annual Convention is being held on November 19, 20, and 21.
• Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on November 22 and 23. November 22 - 26 are nonattendance days for students.
• Many band and choral contests are planned for the next several weeks. Please check the District calendar for dates.
• An education meeting of the Board of Education will be held at Lions Park School on December 2. The next regular business meeting will be held on December 16 at the Administration Building.
• District schools will be closed beginning with the close of classes on December 17. Classes resume on January 3.
• Members of the Lincoln Junior High School cross country team and their coaches will be honored at the December 2 meeting for their outstanding performance at the state cross country meet on October 16, 2004.

Other Reports
Legislative: The veto session is underway with some minor issues pending which affect District 57. The waiver submitted to employ substitute teachers for more than 120 days in a school year was denied. Dr. Brown explained the rationale behind the denial, and mentioned that the PE waiver submitted by District 57 will be approved. District 57 has invited Congressman Mark Kirk to visit our schools.
IASB: The minutes from the North Cook meeting were previously distributed. A discussion by the Board was held on the IASB resolution specific to HB750 School Funding Reform, which the Board agreed not to support at the last meeting. Consensus was reached to hold firm on that decision even though the resolution has been reworded.
NSSEO: The dates of the next NSSEO and LICA meetings were announced. Negotiations are underway for a new contract for ESP staff.
Education Foundation: The Foundation has received thank you notes from staff members for approved grants. Board members were asked to sign up to sell raffle tickets at concerts for the dinner dance.
Building Representatives: A brief summary of school and PTA activities was presented.

Questions and Statements from the Floor
None.

Priority Items

• Heard a report on district enrollment projections for the 2005 – 2014 school years.
• Approved the tentative levy for 2004 and adopted resolution #041118 which determines the estimated tax levy for the year 2004. A public hearing on the levy will be held on December 16, 2004.
• Held a discussion on the school calendar for the 2005-06 school year with student attendance from August 24, 2005, through June 12, 2006.
• Held a discussion on a procedural question relating to attendance of NSSEO executive sessions.

Action Items*

1. Approved the bills and financial statements.*
2. Approved the summer school, extended school year, and TPI summer programs for 2005.*
3. Approved the Illinois State Library Grant.*
4. Appointed designated representatives of the board secretary to accept nominating petitions.*
5. Adopted resolution #041118a authorizing the Board of Education to file a request to intervene on a property tax appeal.*
6. Approved an amendment to the Flexible Benefit Plan.*
7. Approved an extra duty stipend in the amount of $749.*
8. Approved the personnel report.*

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Brown’s report included information on the status of waivers, legislation, the Mount Prospect Winter Parade, the Mount Prospect Community-Wide Thanksgiving Service, and the November 24 teacher institute.

New Business
An update was presented on the alignment of district handbooks to the Policy Manual.

Executive Session
The Board convened into closed session for the purpose of discussing the sale or lease of real estate, personnel, and litigation.
 

2005 School Board Elections

April 5, 2005

District 57 is seeking candidates for the Board of Education. There will be four open seats at the April 5, 2005, election. Candidates for an Illinois school board:

1. Must be at least 18 years old;
2. Must have lived in the school district for at least one year;
3. Must be a registered voter.

Requirements to become a school board candidate are:

• File a Statement of Economic Interests with the county clerk and obtain a receipt.
• File the following forms with the secretary of the Board of Education between January 18 and January 25, 2005: a nominating petition signed by at least 50 registered voters or 10 percent of the voters, whichever is less; a Statement of Candidacy; a county clerk’s receipt for the Statement of Economic Interests. Petitions and Statements of Candidacy are available from board secretary.
• If a candidate receives or expends $3,000 or more in an election campaign, reports must be filed with the county clerk.

For more information, please contact Board Secretary Luann Grish at (847) 385-3713 or lgrish@dist57.org.