Ginger Bencola

The Policy, Evaluation and Goals (PEG) Committee meeting focused on reviewing and making recommendations regarding several sections of the Policy Book. Key decisions included keeping Policy 5144 over the PRESS policy 7:285 for Food Allergy Management. For Policy 7:300 concerning Extracurricular Activities, the consensus was to table it for cluster discussion later. Policy 7:310 (Restrictions on Publications) was recommended to be kept, with the district reviewing practice concerning student material distribution. Policy 7:325 (Student Fundraising Activities) was recommended to be kept with an addition requiring all funds to be deposited into District Student Activity Accounts, while clarifying the scope regarding parent/teacher organizations. Policy 7:330 (Student Use of Buildings -- Equal Access) was recommended to be kept as it complies with the Equal Access Act. For Policy 7:340 (Student Records), the administration recommended keeping both 7:340 and 5157 as separate policies. Additionally, an update on the Strategic Plan was presented, detailing the process, future meeting dates for the Steering Committee, and plans for seven focus groups categorized by academic, climate, finance, and facilities data. There was an extensive discussion on the Board of Education Agenda item 'Board of Education Comments,' focusing on whether this section circumvents the Open Meetings Act and how board members can advocate for positions, potentially by adopting a policy allowing members to place items directly on the agenda.

The Technology Committee meeting focused on innovative technology ideas for the classroom, supported by the hiring of an instructional technology director. Key duties for this director include developing a technology utilization roadmap and creating a professional development plan. The Faculty Technology Innovation Committee engaged teachers in evaluating technology, focusing on areas like learning management systems, push applications, and digital literacy, leading to self-selected groups for iPads and digital literacy. A demonstration of using iPads, the Dropbox program, and NoteWriter in ILS classes showed positive results, including the elimination of lost papers and an increase in work completion. Discussions also covered the possibility of sending devices home with students, referencing successful programs in other districts. Furthermore, the committee discussed the interview process for the instructional technology director position, including desired skills like innovation and implementation experience.

Key discussions included responses to public comments regarding expenditures such as faculty dues, computer memory costs, per diems for conferences, and physical therapy for students, with the Board of Education temporarily suspending its policy on not responding to public inquiries. The committee reviewed an Energy Savings Program initiated by a student, which involves replacing exterior lighting with LEDs to decrease energy costs and CO2 emissions, projecting a 4.2-year payback period. Recommendations were made to the Board of Education to authorize the commencement of the 2013 audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, and to approve the Athletic Uniform purchases, noting the need for soliciting multiple bidders for competitive pricing. Furthermore, the committee recommended approving a one-year contract extension with Visual Image Photograph (VIP) for the 2013-14 school year, and recommended approval of the Check Disbursements dated March 12, 2013, to be reviewed at the subsequent Special Board of Education meeting.

Key discussions included an update on administrative searches for several director and division head positions, prompting questions regarding the search process structure. The committee reviewed the timeline for the Superintendent Search Process, detailing steps involving focus groups, surveys, vetting, and confidential interviews leading up to the announcement in April. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing a proposed Nepotism Policy, with detailed debate concerning its scope, particularly regarding supervisory roles and potential conflicts of interest, leading to specific amendments to be made before seeking legal counsel review. Furthermore, an informational proposal for restructuring the Educational Technology Department was presented, suggesting changes such as outsourcing website technical management and hiring a data systems analyst to move towards a self-service model. The committee also reviewed the Annual Utilization Report for the Employee Assistant Program.

The Policy, Evaluation and Goals (PEG) Committee discussed several sections of the Policy Book. For Policy 6:10 (Educational Philosophy and Objectives), the committee agreed to add language requiring the Superintendent to report to the Board as appropriate and to include a section for additional topics indicated by the Board. For Policy 6:15 (School Accountability), the committee agreed to replace references to "Illinois learning Standards" with "New Illinois Learning Standards Incorporating the Common Core". Policy 6:20 (School Calendar) was accepted as presented. Regarding Policy 6:30 (Organization of Instruction), the committee accepted the policy but requested research on the effectiveness of parent overrides or under-rides of student assessments. Policy 6:40 (Curriculum Development) required amendments to change specific words and delete a procedural phrase regarding curriculum review program monitoring. For Policy 6:50 (Wellness), the committee decided to accept the policy as presented but replace the first two paragraphs with those from Policy 3700, which addresses a public act requiring specific monitoring. Policy 6:60 (Curriculum Content) was accepted provisionally, pending review by ACT, and the committee chose to delete Policy 12 (American Flag) rather than integrate it. Finally, the committee discussed sabbaticals, concluding with a consensus recommendation for the Board of Education to approve no more than three sabbatical applications for the next year, with consideration given to requiring recipients to conduct workshops.