The December 16, 2019 regular Board of Education meeting was held on-site at Field School. A video of the meeting is now available on the Board meetings webpage. The video is conveniently time-marked, so you may select any agenda topic to begin viewing.
Principal Jason Bednar presented a student-created video showing some of the improvements to Field School. Emerson music teacher Erica Faulhaber lead her Chamber Orchestra in a performance of holiday songs, and the Board recognized middle school cross country teams, and girls basketball teams from both Lincoln Middle School and Emerson Middle School. Artwork from Field students in grades 3-5 was displayed on the wall during the meeting.
Other highlights from the meeting include:
- Financial action - The School Board adopted a property tax levy of $70.3 million for 2019, a 4.87 percent increase over the previous year. It was deliberately set high enough to capture the full tax benefit of new construction in the District, however, District 64 will only receive what it is entitled to under the law. The District also approved the transfer of funds from the Education Fund and the Operations and Maintenance Fund into the Capital Projects Fund to fund construction projects in the district. Lastly, District staff presented the Fiscal Year 2018-19 audit to the Board. The audit presented showed no risks or inefficiencies and for the 11th consecutive year, received the highest possible rating from the Illinois State Board of Education.
- Board approves bid for Washington addition - Construction is set to begin this winter on an addition and other internal improvements to Washington School. The Board approved a bid of $4.9 million from Construction Solutions of Illinois. The project will add a two-story addition to the school. The 8,700-square-foot addition will mean four more classrooms, student restrooms, a staff restroom, more storage, and the reconfigurations for better use of space. The project is expected to be complete for the opening of school in August.
- Board adopts calendar for 2020-21 - The Board approved a calendar for the 2020-21 school year with classes beginning on Thursday, August 27. Like last year, the start date is a week later than the traditional start date for District 64 schools due to construction.