President Laurel DiPrima called the business meeting of the Board of Education of September 23, 2004, to order at 7:30 p.m. Board members present: John Abrams, Rich Benson, Rosemary Grier, Cindy Koerner, Joe Leane, and Sue Ramstedt. Approved the amended minutes of the July 15, 2004, meeting and the minutes of the August 19, 2004, meetings.

Items of Public Interest

• The District 57 Education Foundation’s sixth annual golf outing is September 25.
• Twenty-two new staff members were welcomed to District 57 this school year.
• District 57 buildings will be closed on October 11 in observance of Columbus Day.
• An Evening With State Legislators will be held on October 20 at Lincoln Junior High School.
• October 21 is an early dismissal day for students with junior high students dismissed at 11:30 a.m. and elementary students at noon.
• National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week and Red Ribbon Week are October 18 – 22, 2004.
• District 57 will have four open seats for the April 5, 2005, school board election. Prospective school board candidates may begin circulating nominating petitions on October 27, 2004. Tuesday, January 18, 2005, is the first day to file nominating petitions with the school board secretary and Tuesday, January 25, 2005, is the last day to file nominating petitions.

Other Reports

Legislative: An update was presented with regard to an Evening With State Legislators at Lincoln Junior High School on October 20 at 7:30 p.m. Senators Sullivan and Garrett and Representatives Nekritz and Krause will be present to discuss education funding issues in District 57 and Illinois. Community members are encouraged to attend.
IASB: The North Cook Dinner Meeting will be held on October 28. The discussion will focus on the school funding reform bill (which will not benefit suburban school districts.)
NSSEO: The contract agreement between the NSSEO Governing Board and the Northwest Suburban Special Education Association (NSSEA) has been approved. A one-year extension of the NSSEA-ESP contract has been approved for the 2004-05 school year.
LICA: The budget has been approved.
Education Foundation: The golf outing is September 25. September 24 is the deadline for grant proposals. There is still money available for mini-grants.
Downtown Redevelopment: A tour of the Mount Prospect Library was recently taken.
Multi-district: A tentative meeting date is November 10.
Building Representatives: A brief summary of school and PTA activities was presented.

Priority Items

• A public hearin g was held on the FY2005 budget.
• Adopted the FY2005 budget which reflects deficit spending in the amount of $1.1 million dollars.
• Held a discussion on the annual budget calendar which has been expanded to include long-term capital and facilitie s planning.
• Adopted the 2004-05 budget calendar.
• Heard a report on the performance of students on the Illinois Standard Achievement Tests (ISAT) which was taken in spring 2004.

Action Items*

1. Approved the bills and financial statements.*
2. Approved the technology staff loan.*
3. Approved the 2004-05 Application for Recognition of Schools.*
4. Approved extra duty stipends in the amount of $160,079.*
5. Adopted resolution #040923 accepting the three-year lease proposal from American Capital for approximately $176,000.*
6. Approved the personnel report.*

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Brown’s report included information on the newly appointed state superintendent and State Board of Education.

New Business

• A cancer fundraiser is being held at Campannari’s Inc. on Sunday, September 26.

Executive Session
The Board convened into closed session for the purpose of discussing the acquisition or lease of real property with no action taken.

 

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 Debbie Hughes at (847) 385-3713 or dhughes@dist57.org.