Berwyn North School District 98 Board of Education met July 28

By Kristine Gonzales-Abella

Sep 9, 2022

Berwyn North School District 98 Board of Education met July 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER

Meeting began at 6:34 p.m. with the pledge of allegiance led by Board President Mounce.

COMMUNICATIONS

A. Dr. Michelle Smith, Superintendent addressed the Board and community in regards to a City of Berwyn employee and the recent unrest of the community. Dr. Smith is regretful with the unfortunate event, and assures the community that Berwyn North disapproves and discourages racial discrimination of any form.

B. FY23 Tentative Budget Presentation

Regina Johnson, Chief School Business Official, presented the second draft of the 2022-2023 school year budget to the Board and community.

C. Superintendent Smith presented the preliminary Illinois Assessment of Readiness IAR comparison data for ELA and Math to the Board and community. Berwyn North through covid have struggled but have remained steady. Those student in ELA that met the benchmark are still meeting the benchmark, however as a district student are struggling in the subject of Math. Dr. Smith understands that the district has much work to do when it comes to moving students in the subject of math and will plan during this school year to improve the math scores.

PUBLIC COMMENT

A. None stated.

BOARD COMMENT

A. None stated.

CONSENT AGENDA

A. Approved Minutes:

1. Regular Meeting Minutes - 6/30/2022

2. Executive Meeting Minutes - 6/30/2022

B. Approved Personnel:

1. New Hires:

a. Danielle Bender, English Language Arts (ELA) Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, for the 2022- 2023 school year.

b. Anna Barncord, English Language Arts Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

c. Elise Blidy, Special Education Teacher at Havlicek Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

d. Angela Addante, Social Studies LBS1 Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

e. Bethany Newby, Social Studies Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

f. David Cho, Physical Education Teacher at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

g. Melissa Mayorga, Lunchroom Supervisor at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

h. Roneth Pineda, General Education Teacher at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

i. Maricela Rosales, School Bus Driver at District Office effective on July 29, 2022. j. Alejandra Serrano, Dual Language Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

k. Michael Schweinberg, Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School, effective August 8, 2022. l. Leila Massouh, Special Education Teacher at Havlicek Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

m. Katherine DeVries, Special Education Teacher at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022- 2023 school year.

n. Mohammed Farraj, Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School, effective August 1, 2022.

o. Diana Garcia, Lunchroom Supervisor at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

p. Maria Mendoza Arreguin, Lunchroom Supervisor at Jefferson Elementary School, for the 2022- 2023 school year.

q. Brittany Johnson, Math Curriculum Specialist at District Office, effective August 1, 2022.

2. Resignations:

a. Ashley Hines, Special Education Teacher at Havlicek Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective on July 7, 2022.

b. Erin Watts, General Education Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 15, 2022.

c. Lauren Vanthournout, Kindergarten Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 1, 2022.

d. Jessica Hartless, Principal at Havlicek Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 13, 2022.

e. Guillermo Benitez Leon, Math Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 19, 2022.

f. Elizabeth Jarvis, EL Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 19, 2022.

g. Susan Pace, EL Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 13, 2022.

h. Karen Aluise, Speech & Language Pathologist at Prairie Oak Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 22, 2022.

i. Dina Trekas, English Language Arts (ELA)/English Learner Teacher at Lincoln Middle School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 26, 2022.

j. Melissa Arostegui, EL Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has submitted a letter of resignation effective July 27, 2022.

3. Leaves:

a. Alyss Hollinger, Special Education Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has requested an FMLA Leave to start on September 6, 2022, and end on December 5, 2022.

b. Yesenia Vasquez, Paraeducator at Prairie Oak Elementary School, has requested an FMLA Leave to start on September 6, 2022, and end on December 6, 2022.

4. Reassignments: (Tabled)

a. Ruth Mutters, from a Part-Time Art Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School to a Full-Time Art Teacher at Prairie Oak Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

b. Jennifer Mattucci, from Science Teacher at Lincoln Middle School to a Special Education Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school year.

c. Charlie DeLeonardis, from Assistant Principal at Havlicek Elementary School to Interim Principal at Havlicek Elementary School, effective August 1, 2022.

5. Retirement:

6. Declinations:

a. Jeffrey Firlej, PE Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, for the 2022-2023 school declined effective July 5, 2022.

C. Approval of Building Use Applications

D. Approval of Authorizations of next month's Payroll: (Tabled)

1. Approval of Invoices – $ 3,127,249.56

2. Approval of Monthly Payroll – $ 382,961.43

3. Approval of Authorization of next month's payroll – August

ACTION ITEMS

A. Approved – To place the Tentative Budget for the 2022-2023 school year on display. Such tentative Budget is to be filed and conveniently available for public inspection for 30 days prior to Board Approval on September 29, 2022.

B. Approved – S.S.P. Inc., to replace the Lincoln Middle School gym lockers in the amount of $26,333

C. Tabled – The purchase of kitchen equipment for the building located at 6420 16th Street currently called the PTLC.

D. Approved – The increase of the long term substitute assignments daily pay from $150 to $185.

E. Approved – Board Policy - Second Read:

1. 7:162 Dress Code

F. Approved – The Semiannual Review of Closed Meeting Minutes

EXECUTIVE SESSION WITH POSSIBLE ACTIONS TO FOLLOW IN OPEN SESSION

A. Approved – Consent Agenda Item B 4 a-c

B. Approved – Consent Agenda Item D 1-3

INFORMATION AND REPORTS

A. Monthly Fund Report

Regina Johnson, Chief Business Official presented the Monthly Fund Report to the Board and community.

B. FOIA:

1. A FOIA request was received on July 1, 2022, from The Illinois Retired Teachers Association. They requested the names and email addresses of certified staff members who have announced their retirement for any date or year in the future and the year they plan on retiring. The information was provided on July 5, 2022.

2. A FOIA request was received on July 10, 2022, from Mr. Paul Phillips, Information Director of www.publicdataresearch.com. Mr. Phillips requested a list of all Berwyn North School District 98 employee first and last names, email addresses, title/position, and primary department. The information was provided on July 11, 2022.

C. Upcoming Events:

August 6

District 98 Back to School Event - Jefferson Soccer Field - 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

August 15-16

Teacher Institute Days

August 17

First Attendance Day for Students

August 20

North Berwyn Park District - Nuestras Raíces Back to School Fiesta - 16th & Wesley Ave. - 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENT

A. None stated.

BOARD COMMENT