The May 28, 2025, board meeting covered various topics, including logistical planning for the referendum and the approval to hire two special education teachers for Harter Middle School and McDole Elementary School. All board members were in attendance for the meeting except for Dr. Aaron Lawler.
The meeting began with a presentation from Kaneland High School’s Key Club. Co-Social Media specialist Sophia Schroll, President Brooklyn Brown and President-elect Aleena Alrifaee spoke about the program and the many things that Key Club was involved in this past year.
Superintendent Dr. Kurt Rohlwing congratulated elementary school physical education teacher Sadie Stark on being the elementary school Teacher of the Year, as recognized by the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Stark will be honored in December, along with Blackberry Creek Elementary School nurse Susan Paustian, who was nominated for the Education Support Professional Star Award.
Rohlwing also congratulated the boys track and field team on their 3A Sectional championship and the girls soccer team for their 6-0 Regional championship win over Woodstock. The girls softball team won their Regional semifinal game 3-0 over Woodstock North to advance to Friday’s Regional championship. While the boys track and field team did not qualify for the State competition, many of the boys on the team qualified individually. The board then honored student representative Sarah Slattery, as this was her final board meeting in the role she began last fall. Slattery will be attending the University of Illinois and majoring in journalism next year.
Director of buildings and grounds Mark Payton reviewed the maintenance plan for the summer and his goals in relation to safety, security, student performance, student experience and community. Bob Lewis then explained bonds and arbitrage. Then, he highlighted the plan for the referendum and how to make the most of it financially. The district debt limit is $135 million and is estimated to go up to $145 million in one year. The referendum included refunding the bonds to be authorized by election and are exempt from the school district statutory debt limit. The phases will include $24 million in 2026, $87 million in 2027 and $28.5 million in 2028. Each phase will incorporate new information on the market and construction plans. Taxpayer shares in bonds are expected to go down over time as more land is added to the school district. The board approved the resolution to authorize the sale of the bonds by a 6-0 vote. 0. On June 16, the bonds will be sold and delegates will need to approve final results. On July 8, the bonds will close. According to historical evidence and current patterns of interest rates, June should be a good month to sell bonds. The board approved the action to not exceed $38 million.
Next, Director of Human Resources Dr. Chris Adkins spoke on the need for special education teachers in the district. Due to the standards used to measure the need for special education teachers, there is an increase in needs at McDole Elementary School and Kaneland Harter Middle School, and a decrease in needs at John Stewart Elementary School. The actions to move one full time equivalent (FTE) teacher to McDole from John Stewart and to add a 1.0 FTE teacher to Harter were approved 6-0.
District Director of Communications David Chavez spoke on the communication plan to keep the community informed while the referendum plans are put into action. The district is aiming for transparency and communication on the ongoing referendum construction projects. There will be a website that includes financial information, updates and project plans. On the social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram and X, there will be pictures and videos updates. The plans include structural work, such as roofing and flooring improvements for the elementary schools. They will work on academic and athletic areas, such as the construction of a new fieldhouse and the renovation of current locker rooms and weight rooms. A core group of stakeholders will represent certain departments and oversee everything while communicating with the board.
Additionally, the board approved the purchase of a new drivers education car for the high school to replace an old one with a vote of 6-0.
To end the meeting, Slattery spoke about the final week of school and all of the activities that students attended. She introduced next year’s student representative, incoming senior Sophia Schroll, and wished her well on the upcoming year.
The next Kaneland school board meeting will be held on Monday, June 30.
