BOARD BRIEFS
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE & SPECIAL MEETING FEBRUARY 4, 2016
HUNTLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 158 BOARD OF EDUCATION
BOARD APPROVES DEBT REFUNDING
AND ABATEMENTS OF DEBT SERVICE
Estimated savings to taxpayers total $1.1+ million
Chief Financial Officer Mark Altmayer estimated the District will save
between $600,000 and $640,000 by taking advantage of favorable
bond rates in the current market to restructure/refund the Series
2008 and Series 2009 General Obligation School Bonds. The Board
approved a measure during the special meeting to take
advantage of the refunding opportunity in an effort to reduce the
District’s total long-term debt after discussing the opportunity with its
bond advisor at its previous meeting.
In a separate move, the Board approved an abatement of
$400,000 from the Capital Development Award. Altmayer noted
that this move will amount to savings for taxpayers approximately
equaling the approved levy increase of 0.7% reflecting the increase
in the Consumer Price Index.
In addition, the Board approved abating an additional $165,518.75
of taxes levied for 2015 for debt service on $3,825,000 General
Obligation School Refunding Bonds, Series 2009. In total, the
approved measures amount to savings to taxpayers of more than
$1 million.
Summer School 2016 Structure Proposed
Chief Academic Officer Erika Schlichter presented the District’s
planned offerings for Summer School 2016. The District plans two
sessions of course offerings for middle school and high school students:
Session I (6/13 - 7/8) and Session II (7/11 - 8/4), in addition to two
sessions of elementary academic programming: Session I (Online) and
Session 2: (7/11 - 8/4). A variety of shorter-term programs also are slated
to be offered, including Jump Start to Middle School, Summer ICE,
Inquiry Quest, Extended School Year, and SNAP. The full slate of
proposed offerings is available at
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=38186775.
February 4, 2016 Volume 2, Issue 13
MIDDLE SCHOOL
STUDENTS SPEAK TO
BENEFITS OF 1:1
Several eighth grade
students from Heineman and
Marlowe Middle School
demonstrated the benefits they
have enjoyed from adoption of
1:1 learning with Chromebooks.
A group presentation by
students Jolie Woodside,
Brandon Ary, Grace Carpenter,
Taylor Koop, Arianna Luciano,
and Anna Seng highlighted
several technology-enhanced
projects across the curriculum
they have enjoyed working on
using Chromebook. The
students noted that they didn’t
know each other well and
collaborated remotely to
create the presentation using
Google Slides. View the full
presentation at
https://docs.google.com/presentation/
d/1xPZub32zy_WSugkFVrvinCjTev7M_UZ
Hv-Z8pvz3g0M/edit?usp=sharing.
----REGISTRATION FEES
The District proposed
holding registration fees flat for
grades K-8 for 2016-2017. The
proposal, to be voted on next
meeting, calls for a $12
increase in fees at the high
school, reflecting the cost of a
device protection plan for 1:1
devices fully rolling out at the
high school next year.
View the proposed fee
schedule at
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/Publi
cItemDownload.aspx?ik=38194998
HUNTLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 158 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Board Approves Health Services Broker
At the special meeting, the Board approved Mesirow Financial as the District’s new Health Services Broker
after an RFP process that yielded several competitive proposals.
Tiered Approach Proposed for Hiring
The administration presented proposals for hiring and/or restricting of positions to meet instructional and
support needs for next year. Tier 1 proposed positions, the highest priority, include the hiring of five new
teachers at the high school, two high school special education teachers to meet IEP needs and changes in
instructional approaches, five staff persons to support the rollout of 1:1 at the high school, two bilingual
teachers and a bilingual aide, and two district-wide substitutes. In addition at the middle schools, a .35 FTE
teacher is sought to support the expansion of Orchestra to seventh grade, as well as a .35 FTE music teacher
and a part-time health teacher.
The estimated cost for the Tier 1 hires totals $544,500. However, projected decreases in enrollment at the
elementary level could lead to shifts in staffing that would reduce the net increased cost of the proposal to
about $150,000-$200,000. Administration is seeking to move forward with the proposed staffing hires for the
2016-17 school year as the budget permits. Tier 2 and Tier 3 positions are lower priority and would be
considered as the budget allows. No action was asked of the Board at this time, as action will take place
when the actual hires are brought forward. The full proposal is available at
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=38186797.
Pending Actions
In addition, at its next Regular Meeting, the Board will vote whether to approve:
•
•
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•
Standard resolutions to establish the District’s fiscal year as July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017 and to
appoint Mr. Altmayer as the person to prepare a Tentative Budget of the Board
A fundraiser contract to benefit the HHS softball team
Purchase orders at $2,719,040.81; Imprest checks at $102,585.68; and disbursements issued at
$3,588,398.33
Minutes of the Board’s Regular Meeting and Waiver Hearing of January 21, 2016
Informational Updates
The Board heard informational reports on:
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The recently completed math curriculum review (presentation:
•
•
Monthly fiscal, HR, Operations and Maintenance, and legislative updates
The progress of the HHS Additions and Renovations project, which is progressing on time and
continues to run about $600,000 under budget.
An operations and maintenance report forecasting the next ten years of Capital Projects
O&M Annual Report (https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=38195040)
•
•
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1R4t5RQIohFcb4lulkPcPqsYD6U7ep7sHmHdpVDWZ9I8/edit?usp=sharing)
Learn more about the Board of Education and review schedules, agendas,
minutes, and live streams of meetings at WWW.DISTRICT158.ORG/BOE.
Communications and Public Engagement
HUNTLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 158 BOARD OF EDUCATION
650 Academic Drive, Algonquin, IL 60102