Hinsdale High School District 86 Board
Among other business at their Aug. 22 meetings, board members:
• held a public hearing on and approved an e-learning plan to allow the district to use remote learning days when the weather is inclement, instead of emergency days that must be made up later in the year. The Illinois State Board of Education required the board to hold the public hearing (at which no one spoke) and take an official vote before implementing the program.
• heard a security update from Kevin Simpson, security director. The new school resource officers are working out well, he said, and are very experienced.
“The eight new people that we brought in have a total of 233 years of law enforcement experience,” Simpson said.
• listened to the directors of counseling at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South present an overview of their departments. This year the 13 counselors at Hinsdale Central are working with 2,700 current students and more than 700 eighth-graders who will attend next year. About 210 students are assigned to each counselor. Central’s director of counseling, Jen Regnier, said that number is low compared to other districts she worked in, where the case load was 350 or 450 students.
Community Consolidated Elementary Dist. 181 Board
Among other business Monday, board members:
• listened as John Munch, assistant superintendent of human resources, and Mike Duggan, director of buildings and grounds, discussed school safety advancements made in conjunction with the district’s safety and crisis committee. Among the major safety initiatives completed during the last school year are the installation and implementation of proximity cards and keyless entry, a visitor identification system, double-buzzer office reconfiguration, safety film on the glass of all exterior entrances and office windows, public announcement system upgrades, and door and hardware security upgrades.
Initiatives slated for the upcoming school year include installing safety film on first-floor windows, developing a reunification plan for all schools and providing and implementing “go bags” for all classrooms to use during lockdowns and evacuations. All staff have been trained on safety protocols, and the safety and crisis committee will meet during the school year to review and refine our procedures as needed.
• agreed to refinance $3.55 million in debt in order to save $349,538 over eight years due to a significant decline in interest rates. The 2009 certificates were originally issued to finance improvements and renovations at district facilities and also to refund the 2000 lease certificates.
• heard a staffing update from Munch, who reported that current class sizes in all schools at all grade levels are at or below the class size guidelines. The elementary school student enrollment of 2,340 is down by eight students from last year, and elementary staff was reduced by two classroom teachers as had been projected. Middle school student enrollment of 1,301 is down by 14 students from last year, and the staff was reduced by 1.5 content-area teachers. Munch characterized the hiring season as “very successful,” yielding 16 teachers, 14 instructional assistants, two custodians, one certified school nurse and one administrator.
