At the first board meeting of the calendar year, a total of eleven public comments took place. Topics including Kaneland school buses, the proposed Sugar Grove TIF and the discontinuation of the Kaneland IgKnight Learning Academy’s (KIPLA) ninth-grade expansion were discussed by the school board and public commenters at Wednesday’s regularly scheduled board meeting, among other topics.
The Jan. 17 board meeting was held at 7 p.m. in the sixth-grade team room at Kaneland Harter Middle School. Five of the seven board members were present, with Jennifer Simmons and Aaron Lawler missing. After the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call and approval of the agenda, two salutes were made.
Director of Special Services Fran Eggleston gave a salute to the Elburn Lions Club for their support of students. On Jan. 6, 35 students with disabilities and their families attended a showing of Shrek, which was hosted at the Sycamore State Theater by the Lions Club.
Continuing with the salutes, Director of Athletics and Activities David Rohlman gave an overview of fall sports from this past season. Coaches and student-athletes from fall sports programs gave overviews of their accomplishments, with specific representatives from football, boys cross country, girls cross country, girls tennis, volleyball and girls golf. Rohlman talked about boys soccer and boys golf, as the sports had no representatives in attendance.
Additionally, Board President Addam Gonzales thanked coaches for the time they dedicate to their sports programs.
“I want to say thank you [for] the countless hours that not only athletes but coaches, assistant coaches [and] everyone involved in these sports put into these programs,” he said. “You guys are truly the pride of Kaneland.”
The consent agenda was approved by a vote of 5-0.
Nine public comments were made at this time, with parent Jennifer Crocker, eighth-grade student Alex Crocker, parent Jessica Massonette (read by Jennifer Crocker), parent Todd Flesher and parent Ben Kirkland all discussing the decision to not extend KIPLA to include ninth grade at this time. They discussed how KIPLA positively impacts students and wish there had been more notice about this change.
Eighth-grade parent Flesher described how his son felt about the change.
“He told me when I told him [he would have to go to the high school next year], ‘They finally put something out in front of me that I could learn [from and] look forward to. I feel like I was making real progress, and they just pulled it away. It feels like a literal punch in the face,’” Flesher described.
Community members Molly Reimer, Andrea Williams, Carolyn Anderson and Jaden Chada discussed the proposed Sugar Grove TIF. They encouraged the board to evaluate the information regarding the impacts that development would have on the community and seek what influence they have over the decision of whether to approve the TIF, which will ultimately be decided by the Sugar Grove Village Board.
The board then moved on to the new business agenda, where they approved the implementation of a proposed timeline presented by Superintendent Dr. Todd Leden to gather more information from the community to aid a referendum plan in the future. The actions outlined in the timeline can now begin, but under the knowledge that the timeline can be adjusted.
Next, the board approved the purchase of five one-year-old buses. The district tries to update the bus fleet every year. The buses typically last about ten to eleven years before they are traded in. Purchasing one-year-old buses versus brand-new buses saves money and time fixing initial bugs that typically are dealt with in the first year of use.
Lastly, the board approved the recommendations following the Policy Reference Education Subscription Service’s (PRESS) review of the Kaneland district’s current policies. Policies relating to employee leaves of absence, library media programs, child enrollment of teachers outside of district boundaries, student behavior communication and medicine administration were the five specific policies reviewed by the board.
The Superintendent/Board Report followed, including a school update from student representative Katie Pfotenhauer. Gonzales and Vice President Bob Mankivsky requested that Pfotenhauer report to the board with students’ thoughts on e-learning and ways to improve the new system. The board then introduced topics for future agenda.
Gonzales proposed a review of the lack of ninth-grade extension at KIPLA, with board members Ryan Kleisner and Aaron McCauley agreeing that they would like more information about KIPLA. Kleisner and Mankivsky also requested more information about the Sugar Grove TIF and that the board possibly develop a position on it. Board Member Edmund Koch offered to connect the board with the Village of Sugar Grove trustees to increase communication.
“I’d rather [make an] informed decision versus [an] emotional decision because I think there’s definitely a lot of different types of emotions going on in this,” Kleisner said. “I would really like to see some actual facts, understanding [of] real numbers and actual implications.”
The meeting concluded with a second round of public comments, where parent Tonia Groezinger asked the board about whether Kaneland school buses were used to move migrants in Elburn and urged the board to reconsider the format of e-learning, especially for elementary students. Community member Carolyn Anderson gave information regarding the Sugar Grove TIF.
The open session concluded at 9:03 p.m., and the board moved to a closed session.
The next board meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 29.
