Lake Forest District 67 Regular School Board Meeting - 4/21/26

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[00:04:22]School District 67 Board of Education meeting for April 21, 2026. May I have a roll call, please?

[00:04:32]Miss Engelberg? Here. Mr. Adamo? Here.

[00:04:35]Miss Fitzgerald? Here. Mr. Lavin? Here.

[00:04:38]Mr. Remus? Here. Miss Yan?

[00:04:42]Here. Mr. Burger? Here. Motion carries.

[00:04:47]Good evening. I invite all members of the board, administration, and community to stand at attention facing the flag with their right hand over their heart to recite the pledge of allegiance.

[00:05:00]I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[00:05:21]First up on the agenda tonight, we have the student spotlight on Everett and I'll turn the floor over to Megan Eigenbrodt.

[00:06:07]um transgress throughout the year. So, we begin we began the beginning of the year with um principal led kind of information and what does this look like? How can it live in your everyday life?

[00:06:19]And then we transitioned in the spring to the students really owning that work.

[00:06:23]So, in the fall, the slides looked like this.

[00:06:28]And every week, the students had a specific mission. Our theme is space this year. And um the students worked on adaptability and citizenship, etc. And then every week they had a challenge to try and make that come to life throughout their week. So, for example, this challenge is that if if um your first choice is taken, we want you to come up with a back like a backup plan so that you're not shutting down, you're not shying away from a challenge. You are really rising to occasion the occasion and trying to figure out what's another way that I can solve this. So, that flexible adaptive thinking. Um so, every week the students are challenged to kind of apply the portrait of learner competencies throughout their school week.

[00:07:15]Um Mrs. Deb Berry, our amazing fourth grade teacher, is going to come up with some students and share a little bit about how they then took that um premise of like setting a challenge throughout each week and turned it into a student led initiative where students were actually teaching each other on the morning announcements and um sharing what the competencies looked like, what it means to them, and then how they've grown in those competencies. Come on up.

[00:07:46]Hello, I'm Deb Berry, fourth grade teacher at Everett school, and I'm so proud to be here with my three of my fourth graders. And Dr. Eigenbrodt has done an outstanding job of focusing on the competencies each morning so that we can practice them in our daily lives, right, kids?

[00:08:03]And so, the fourth graders back in January were given the opportunity to uh focus on slide that our fourth graders created and then they presented in front of the entire school. And in doing this and having it be student led, it really has helped students build their confidence, their communication skills, and even their critical thinking skills. Tonight, my fourth graders here with me would like to teach you about what they have learned about the competencies and how important they are in their lives. And they would also like to share with you oops, share with you uh a project that we are currently working on where they had to pick one competency and tell about how they have grown in that area uh throughout the year so far.

[00:08:53]So, without further ado, here the students like to introduce themselves to you and do their little part of the presentation.

[00:09:10]Hi, I'm Sophia.

[00:09:12]Hi, I'm Jackson.

[00:09:14]Hi, I'm Paul.

[00:09:19]Hi. Hi, we are the students from Mrs. Berry's fourth grade class and we are honored to be here to talk about District 67's portrait of a learner and how important these life skills are to all students in District 67.

[00:09:36]First up, communication. Communication is key.

[00:09:40]It helps when it comes to sharing ideas, listening to others, and working well with people.

[00:10:51]>> change them the most most this year. And here's what just a few of the fourth graders have come up with.

[00:11:01]The competency I have grown in is adaptability because I I've been trying to be flexible when something changes. If something changes, I try to go with it and be positive about it.

[00:11:12]I try new things even if it's different.

[00:11:15]Also, as an adaptable student, I've been trying to see new ways to solve problems in class.

[00:11:23]The competency I have grown in is confidence because I try my best to overcome problems at school and at home.

[00:11:29]When I face a problem, I am confident in myself to work and work to persevere through. I also take risks in class. I raise my hand to share ideas even when I'm a little unsure what the answer is.

[00:11:41]I try harder problems in math instead of choosing the easiest one.

[00:11:46]The competency I have grown in is critical thinking because I've been trying to use different problem-solving strategies than than the ones I'm more comfortable with. I try my best learning and understanding the new strategies. I also show critical thinking by asking questions and asking for help when I don't know something because I want to learn it. Asking for help is better than not knowing what to do. Yeah, and Paul was using critical thinking when we came in. He said that you guys should be sitting out here and he thought we were going to come up there and present. So, that was really a good idea. Maybe they can try that next time. What do you think, Paul?

[00:12:26]Yeah? Okay, well, thank you so much for allowing us to come today to share with you all the great things that we are working on at Everett school. Focusing on these portrait of a learner competencies has truly helped our students grow into thoughtful, kind, and capable learners who are ready to solve problems, work with others, and succeed both in school and in life. Thank you so much.

[00:12:50]>> [applause] [applause] >> All of our fourth graders have a project for family share night. So, if anyone's free next Thursday, stop by. Great.

[00:13:09]Thank you. And if we could just ask Sophia, Jackson, and Paul to come up and take a picture, we'd appreciate it. And I also want to give a huge shout-out to you guys. Speaking in public is not easy. You probably thought you were just going to get the board. You got a roomful of people and you guys kicked butt. So, great job.

[00:13:25]>> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, WE'RE NOW GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE president's report and I want to address something that is top of mind for the community, top of mind for the board, and that is that an incident that happened at DPM last week.

[00:14:39]Um we as a board are as appalled and disheartened by an act of violence that happened at DPM last week. Um we share the community's concerns.

[00:14:52]We hear them. We're listening to them.

[00:14:54]We agree with your concerns about violence like that happening in our schools.

[00:15:01]Safety is of paramount importance to the board. Everything we do has safety in mind. When I think about my role as a board president, as a board member, it's really very simple. It's education, it's safety, and it's fiscal responsibility. And the other two don't matter if our schools aren't safe.

[00:15:22]Simply put, violence has no place in our schools and will not be tolerated.

[00:15:28]We support the strongest possible punishment that is appropriate for those involved.

[00:15:35]We are limited in what we can say and what we can share because of privacy laws as well as threats of litigation.

[00:15:44]But we do want to assure the community that this is top of mind and it's something that we are taking exceedingly serious.

[00:15:53]Punishments have been issued and may further issue.

[00:15:59]Those punishments will be based on facts.

[00:16:02]Not gossip, not rumor, not Facebook posts, but facts.

[00:16:07]Those facts are gathered by interviewing all of those involved, sometimes multiple times, reviewing all of the evidence available, and coming up with a fair punishment that respects the rights of the victim as well as those who are involved.

[00:16:26]We're also looking at what, if anything, the school or the district could have done differently to prevent this or should be doing in the future to make sure it doesn't happen again.

[00:16:40]We encourage parents in this community, parents with kids at DPM and all schools, to treat this as a teaching moment.

[00:16:49]This is something we can all learn from.

[00:16:53]Have a conversation with your children.

[00:16:56]Talk to them about how to diffuse and avoid confrontation.

[00:17:03]Confrontation happens everywhere. It happens in schools, it happens in real life.

[00:17:06]There's a right way to deal with confrontation, avoiding it in the first place, and there's a right way to deal with it and it never involves violence. Let's talk to our kids and make sure they understand it. I've had that conversation with my kid. I have a fifth grader at DPM. I hope everyone else has had that conversation too to talk to them that violence is never acceptable. Full stop.

[00:17:32]We're here to listen to everybody that would like to speak tonight. Uh this board meeting uh unfortunately is a poor forum for a dialogue, a back-and-forth discussion. Uh but we do want to listen to those people who want to speak and hear what you have to say.

[00:17:49]Um we will give all of your thoughts and comments the attention they deserve and we appreciate everyone coming in to share their thoughts this evening.

[00:17:55]Thank you.

[00:17:57]With that, I will turn it over to Dr. Montgomery for the superintendent's report. Thank you, Mr. Remus and Dr. Fitzsimmons. I have several topics to cover tonight. Um it has certainly been a busy uh month since we last reported out. And I will start with a trip that both uh 67, 115, 65, as well as uh four members from New Trier, um we were had the privilege of visiting two school districts in California as well as Stanford to take a deep dive into artificial thinking and design learning. So, we visited the Stanford Design School. We visited the Graduate School of Education as well as Palo Alto Alto Unified and Design Tech, which is a charter school um in nearby uh the university.

[00:18:46]Uh on that same topic of AI, uh Jordan Sals and I uh were researching and studying with CoSN last week downtown and I was a part of a panel uh around a discussion around AI from a leadership standpoint talking about digital connectivity, artificial intelligence, and how schools are approaching these areas with intention and responsibility.

[00:19:08]Few conversations that I have don't have the ubiquitous topic of AI and how it is changing our world and it is our responsibility to figure out how that materialize in different sections of our district and it looks very different from K8 to 912. Uh but we're having those conversations um in a big way and I'm proud of the work that we're doing.

[00:19:29]With that, I'll kick it over to Dr. Fitzsimmons. Thank you, Dr. Montgomery.

[00:19:33]Last week on April 14th, our teacher leaders had the ability to attend day five of this amazing training all about teaching our teachers and our teacher leaders on how to best engage students.

[00:19:47]This is directly aligned to our academic bucket and our goals of improving scores, but truly also aligns to our belonging bucket in terms of how do we make sure that all students are participating, that they're a member of the community, and that this pedagogy ensures that. We will also be bringing this back to all staff in the opening days of our institute day next year.

[00:20:13]Thank you, Dr. Fitzsimmons. I want to give a recognition to our new superintendent advisory council members.

[00:20:19]There were some members that stayed on for another term, and then we backfilled with additional applications that we received around community members who were interested in being a part of this group. This was a group that we started 2 years ago in addition to the Board of Education.

[00:20:36]This committee interfaces with the district administration on a frequency of about four times a year. In addition, the members have an invite to see classes in session with students. So, we'll do tours where they're having community members pull back the veil to see what's happening when students are learning in classes. And it's been a wonderful source of feedback and information as we try to collect as much guidance from the community to make decisions that support the community's wishes.

[00:21:11]Grants Week is always our favorite time of the year. Last week, the Spirit of 67 Foundation celebrated Grants Week across all of our schools. For the 26-27 school year, the Spirit has awarded 30 grants totaling $145,905.

[00:21:27]It's amazing, and these grants are ranging from opportunities in STEM, STEAM, social studies, science, language arts, SEL, and so much more. You can see some of our ChomChom saws for art.

[00:21:41]They're a safe way for our youngest learners to be able to to cut, library book bins, a Holocaust Remembrance Mural, and modular stage enhancements. So, these impactful initiatives help provide enriching educational and cultural experiences for students all across 67 schools.

[00:21:59]This new year, we have something new, and that was really that we have appreciation for our dedicated teachers.

[00:22:05]Some Some teachers won a $100 Spirit gift card that is available for our classrooms. And then also that we have the Spirit Home and Garden Tour that will take place on September 24th. We're so grateful for the Spirit. Thank you.

[00:22:22]Also, the state report card, the Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE just voted last week to approve a new accountability system for the designations that we'll hear about our schools in October. Some of the big shifts that are really good for students is that we're moving away from the old model that only says that 10% of all states schools in the state of Illinois can be exemplary. This is a more equitable and inclusive model that really ultimately will give schools the the designation that they deserve based on how they perform with proficiency, growth, and graduation rate at the high school. Elevating indicators still continue to be around English learner language learners, and also our attendance. It's going to be framed positively next year rather than chronic truancy. And then remember the climate survey, the CSFI that our students take.

[00:23:17]Your participation in that is part of our score. So, we will share more about this as we get closer to our October designations.

[00:23:27]Also, a thank you to all who attended the final executive APT meeting on April 9th. It was really a great conversation and an opportunity for our families to hear directly from Dr. Andrew Fenton, our director of teaching and learning, and Ms. Jenny Parkhurst, who is our district math math coach. If you weren't able to attend, please take a picture of this QR code. You will be able to hear about the opportunities for your children and their math journey in District 67. Thank you.

[00:23:56]Dr. Georgia.

[00:23:58]Thank you, Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Fitzsimmons. So, as you know, with Chuck retiring, we have big shoes to fill, and I don't say that just because he's here tonight. But in early March, we posted the position and advertised on a number of different job boards.

[00:24:13]By spring break, we had a pool of over 50 applicants and invited many viable candidates to complete a one-way video interview to learn more about them.

[00:24:22]These resulted in six candidates being invited to interviews that happened just yesterday with a wide range of stakeholders, and we ran them through two rounds here and in Seminar B.

[00:24:32]And at present, feedback from those interviews is being reviewed, and we're identifying two or three top candidates to meet with Dr. Montgomery and cabinet members on Thursday.

[00:24:43]And after doing reference checks and background checks, we anticipate having a candidate to present at the May Board meetings.

[00:24:51]Thank you, Phil, and we will have overlap with the new position and Chuck before he departs into retirement, and we'll be grateful for that overlap as Chuck onboards who member is selected as the lead candidate.

[00:25:05]Moving on, we had a great attendance at the joint board coffee. For those of you who don't know, three to four times a year, the Board of Education and administration have coffees that are out in the community. This last one was at the Gorton Center on April 2nd. It is essentially any topic the community wants to talk about. Topics discussed at the April session were around artificial intelligence, screen time, tech use in classrooms, as well as construction updates with the high school. There's questions about how we're doing in budget and progress on that project.

[00:25:39]Staying with the construction theme, our latest episode of Beyond the Budget was released earlier this month and is available on our website. While the last episode introduced you to the fiscal services side of our business service team and their collaboration creating the budget with HR, this episode does Excuse me, dives into the other half of business services, the business operations side.

[00:26:00]Guided by hosts Dr. Hermosillo, Ms. Dragert, and Mr. Mortenson, viewers will get a peek behind the curtain on how our business operations and facility teams keeps everything running across both of our districts. And then most recently, the 15th installment of Under the Hard Hat, our community video series, was posted to the website. This new episode provides viewers a sneak peek behind construction walls to see what work was done during spring break, and there was a heck of a lot of work done then, what's happening now, and what is planned over the summer. Check out Lake Forest Schools website for access to both of those resources.

[00:26:38]This is hot off the presses today.

[00:26:40]There'll be more information to come, but I want to celebrate our music programs. For the seventh year in a row, District 67 music programs has received the NAMM Best Communities for Music Education Distinction Award. The National Association of Music Merchants honors the best supported and community embedded programs in the nation. We are one of 31 out of 852 districts in Illinois, top 3.6% of districts within the state, and only 7.5% of nation's districts were awarded in 2026. This award is given to the resources or due to the resources allocated to students in terms of time during the school day devoted to music instruction, teacher-to-student ratios, education of music teaching, district funding available, opportunities for students to perform, and the variety of programming available in music.

[00:27:34]And this is always such a wonderful time around the district.

[00:27:38]Weather's warming up. We're able to participate in some amazing field trips.

[00:27:41]The Cherokee first graders just visited the Brookfield Zoo last month. Earlier this month, Everett first graders experienced nature up close and with a visit to Open Lands. And then last week, DPM seventh graders held their annual poetry slam. That is amazing to see if you haven't yet seen that. Thanks to a grant from the Spirit, they were joined by a five-time Grammy nominee singer Justin Roberts, who helped them develop their poems while also adding a soundtrack to their own words.

[00:28:10]If you've been around Market Square this month, you may have seen Deer Path Art League's Emerging Artist Exhibit.

[00:28:15]District 67 students were selected to exhibit These images just showcasing a few of their incredible pieces. All of this artwork will be displayed until May 1st in Market Square. And then on April 9th, the fourth grade annual art show opening was held downstairs in this building in Gallery 300. This show, which runs through May 10th, features work from every fourth grade student in District 67.

[00:28:40]And I'll conclude with upcoming events.

[00:28:42]There are so many. We are in this race until the end of the school year where we pack as much as we can to make sure we're celebrating our students.

[00:28:49]Jump to start to fifth grade is Wednesday, April 22nd, coming up very soon.

[00:28:56]We had a an optional not optional, but if we use a calamity day, we have to go to school on Friday, April 24th. So, Friday, April 24th is a day of student attendance.

[00:29:08]Then you will see elementary sharing night that's coming up, spring sings that are listed, as well as a DPM concert season or series, and much more. Eighth grade graduation will be right after Memorial Day, as always, where we will celebrate our students who are matriculating onward to the high school career. Thank you so much for your kind attention. Happy to answer any questions the Board may have at this time.

[00:29:34]No questions, but I did want to really just offer my sincere appreciation to the Spirit of 67 and their grants.

[00:29:42]We have tremendous resources in this community that cover the basics, but Spirit of 67 and all of their fundraising and hard work allows uh a little something extra for the students and the teachers. So, I know they put a tremendous amount of work into that. So, thank you to Spirit and the Grants Committee.

[00:30:00]Questions for Dr. Montgomery or the administration on the superintendent's report.

[00:30:10]All right. Uh the board will now hear public comment subject to board policy 2230.

[00:30:16]Um for those who are not familiar, during our board meetings we have two periods for public comment. The first period, this period, is limited to topics that are on the agenda this evening. Uh is there anybody present who would like to uh speak on any of the items on the agenda this evening?

[00:30:40]Seeing no one, we will move on to the liaison reports. Um Greg, did you have anything to report on True North? Very briefly, True North held two meetings uh since our last meeting, I believe, which have been to dot the i's and uh cross the t's on the restructuring plan.

[00:30:57]We have had a reduction in workforce by about 100 heads.

[00:31:02]Um and that is part of what we had cooperatively worked out with other districts. So, that plan is now fully complete.

[00:31:11]Any questions about True North?

[00:31:14]All right. I just have a couple updates on the legislative front um in terms of legislation making its way through Springfield. One is um the continuing policy that's been discussed for a while now about requiring uh a cell phone policy is getting closer to fruition.

[00:31:30]Less of a concern for us cuz we already have a cell phone policy. Um there's also some legislation making its way through regarding notice to remedy requirements for disciplining teachers.

[00:31:41]Um that is something that has re- attracted a lot of attention from the school districts in Illinois in opposition to that because it limits the ability of school districts to determine what they think is right and what the right standards are. Um so, I'm working with the administration and Dr. Georgia on whether or not that is something that we want to oppose formally. So, that's something we're looking at as well.

[00:32:09]Moving on to the action items. Action item number one.

[00:32:14]May I have a motion to approve the recommendation to uphold suspension appeal determination? So moved.

[00:32:21]May I have a second?

[00:32:23]Second.

[00:32:25]Any discussion?

[00:32:29]May I have a roll call vote, please?

[00:32:31]Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Jahn?

[00:32:34]Yes. Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Ms. Fitzgerald?

[00:32:37]Yes. Mr. Berger? Yes. Mr. Lavin? Yes.

[00:32:40]Mr. Remus? Yes. Motion carried.

[00:32:45]We'll now move on to the consent agenda.

[00:32:47]May I have a motion to approve the consen- consent agenda items listed on this month's agenda?

[00:32:54]So moved.

[00:32:55]May I have a second? Second.

[00:32:57]May I have a roll call vote, please?

[00:33:00]Ms. Jahn?

[00:33:01]Yes. Mr. Berger? Yes. Mr. Remus? Yes.

[00:33:05]Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Lavin? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Fitzgerald? Yes. Motion carried.

[00:33:16]We have several FOIA requests, all of which have been completed. Uh FOIA requests are for Ted Bobarsky, Parents Care, Frank McCormick, and Kevin O'Mara.

[00:33:28]At this point, the board will now hear a second opportunity for public comment subject to board policy 2230.

[00:33:36]This opportunity for public comment will be limited to 60 minutes.

[00:33:45]There are some rules that apply to public comment.

[00:33:48]Interested speakers should state their name before addressing the board.

[00:33:53]Members of the public will be granted a maximum of 3 minutes each to provide comment on school district matters.

[00:34:00]Individuals that have signed up for public comment cannot yield their time to other individuals in an effort to give others additional time above 3 minutes.

[00:34:09]All those speaking are expected to act with respect and civility and to conclude within 3 minutes and if requested by me.

[00:34:18]Everyone has a right, within reason, to be heard respectfully.

[00:34:22]Members of the public will not be allowed to speak a second time until all members of the audience who wish to speak have been allowed to do so.

[00:34:30]Public comment should not be redundant and all comments should be directed to the board.

[00:34:36]To provide accurate response, detailed questions posed to the board during public comment will be listened to and taken under advisement.

[00:34:45]The public is always welcome to meet with school officials to receive information, discuss ideas, or express concerns.

[00:34:52]If the public has any letters or other written materials, they may be submitted to the board clerk for public record.

[00:34:58]Are there any members of the public who would like to address the board?

[00:35:04]Yes, please come to the podium.

[00:35:15]Randy Craton.

[00:35:18]Good evening. My name is Randy Craton.

[00:35:20]My wife is Marissa Craton.

[00:35:23]We have four children in District 67.

[00:35:27]On April 14th, my son was walking between classes at DPM where a group of boys attacked him.

[00:35:34]They grabbed him, put him in a choke hold, pulled his sweater over his head, and dragged him into a bathroom.

[00:35:42]Once inside, six of them beat him.

[00:35:47]They punched him, kicked him in the shins and stomach as hard as they could.

[00:35:52]One hit him repeatedly with a water bottle even after my son begged him to stop.

[00:35:59]Another spit on his face.

[00:36:01]They tried to force his head into a toilet. The only reason they failed is that three other brave sixth graders stopped and protected my son.

[00:36:12]Not school staff, students.

[00:36:15]After the attack, one of the boys, one of the attackers, offered $100 to anyone who puts Carmine in the toilet.

[00:36:24]I have since learned that at least three of these attackers have a documented history of bullying going back to elementary schools.

[00:36:32]Other parents have reported it. The district did nothing.

[00:36:37]And now we're here. My son paid the price.

[00:36:43]The district's initial response was wholly inadequate.

[00:36:47]One attacker was not suspended at all.

[00:36:51]Two got two days. Three got three days.

[00:36:54]That's it.

[00:36:56]I truly believe that if we didn't say anything, if we didn't pursue every single avenue and channel to force dist- District 67 and the DPM administration to do the right thing, the attackers would not have got any additional suspension.

[00:37:14]District 67 and DPM only acted because they were forced to.

[00:37:20]What is even worse, on Thursday, when my son went back to school, 48 hours after the attack, DPM and District 67 assured me, my wife, and more importantly, my son, that none of his attackers would be at school that day. That was false. Sir, I'm sorry, your 3 minutes is up. I apologize.

[00:37:51]Is >> [cheering] [applause] >> Is the audience done?

[00:38:09]Okay. I just want to consult with the board. I I would like to hear Mr. Craton speak. Is that okay with the rest of the board?

[00:38:14]Okay. You may continue.

[00:38:16]When my son went back to school, 48 hours after the attack, DPM and District 67 assured me and my son that none of the attackers would be present at school. That was false. The one attacker who was not suspended at all was at school. This attacker confronted my son. My son was terrified. My son was not safe.

[00:38:39]But I want to be clear. This is no longer just about the discipline imposed on Carmine's attackers. This is about whether this board has confidence that DPM and District 67 administration are following the policies you adopted and the laws of this state.

[00:38:56]I'm asking this board to investigate, either directly or by retaining an independent third party, two things.

[00:39:03]First, the district's response to the assault on my son, whether the administration followed policy 7200 and the Illinois law in its dis- disciplinary decisions, whether properly exercised its suspension and expulsion authority, and whether it took adequate steps to protect my son's safety.

[00:39:23]Second, and more broadly, whether there is a pattern of bullying and violence at DPM that this administration has failed to address consistent with the policies that this board has adopted. Based on what I'm hearing from other families in this community, what happened to my son is not an isolated failure.

[00:39:44]You adopted these policies. You have the oversight authority. I'm asking you to use it. Every parent in this room in our community sends their child to school trusting that the district will keep them safe.

[00:40:03]My family trusted that, too.

[00:40:06]That trust has been broken.

[00:40:09]I'm asking this board to restore it.

[00:40:12]Thank you.

[00:40:14]>> [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board?

[00:40:56]Good evening. Jeff Brincat, 20-year area resident.

[00:41:00]Mr. President, members of the board, why are we here tonight?

[00:41:04]Why are we here tonight to advocate for this community?

[00:41:07]Tonight I express my concerns as events of late in our schools have caused the greatest possible consternation among members of our whole community.

[00:41:15]These concerns are regarding the way our schools are run, administered, and guided.

[00:41:20]I'm specifically referring to the greatest possible fears any parent can have regarding the safety of their child. And these fears stand before us now in full view.

[00:41:29]I of course speak not only of the safety in our schools, but also the right of any invested party to full and adequate communications about these dangerous circumstances.

[00:41:40]Every reasonable person would argue that any school setting should be the safest environments.

[00:41:44]On this we should all agree, but I would also argue that the community has a right to full and unqualified disclosure of dangerous occurrences.

[00:41:54]Should not have to wait to be made aware of these through Facebook groups, outside networks, or by rumor, as has been the pattern for some time now in this administration.

[00:42:03]There may be policy disagreements between parties regarding issues such as discipline in certain situations, but who among us here could argue that the community, and especially parents, do not deserve notice when these things happen. And Mr. President, I take you at your word that we should have discussed these with our child, as I have. But without notice from this administration, or this administration be trusted to give notice, how can that take place?

[00:42:26]Who can argue that keeping these things from parents is better than informing them?

[00:42:30]But that's been the policy.

[00:42:33]For example, there appears to have been a group violence.

[00:42:36]Parents don't have a right to know if their own kids have been bullied or have the opportunity to discuss it with them.

[00:42:40]Only through proper notice can a parent have those opportunities.

[00:42:44]What good is a fully staffed communications department resplendent with consultants like Allerton Hill when they can't fulfill the most basic of obligations like informing Little Scout parents that a transition student enrolled right here in this very building was charged with class X felonies, multiple class X felonies relating to violent child pornography?

[00:43:04]Doesn't take a PhD in communications to understand that crimes are not always isolated.

[00:43:10]Dare I even ask what good is a regulatory body like this one or any independent board or commission when these values receive bare lip service but are not truly lived?

[00:43:21]I implore this body, our elected school board, to re-examine its regulatory and oversight role and its obligation under the Illinois Constitution.

[00:43:29]Do you have as a board published policies guiding when and what should be disclosed to the community when something bad happens? If not, I hope you take action because many in this community are no longer comfortable with leaving it to the discretion of this current administration.

[00:43:46]I encourage you all to recommit to the role of oversight and supervision of this district's administration in service to the community which elected each and every one of you with the expectation of such oversight.

[00:43:58]Thank you, Mr. President.

[00:44:00]>> [applause] [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board?

[00:44:21]Hi. Good evening. My name is Courtney Payne. Um I am reading this on behalf of Cherokee staff who are deeply concerned about actions that have transpired over the course of this year resulting in forced resignation at the building level and choice recognition at the resignation at the district level causing a feeling of mistrust, intimidation, and uncertainty from upper administration.

[00:44:45]What is a needs improvement? Is a needs improvement riding the bus home with a child so that they have a successful transition on riding the bus for the first time in their life?

[00:44:54]Is a needs improvement taking time out of your day to ensure that a child has a successful transition at the end of of school and that the communication with parents is seamless, transparent, and reflective of celebrations and areas of need?

[00:45:08]Is a needs improvement developing lessons based on student interests and fostering engagement through truly knowing a child?

[00:45:16]Is a needs improvement waiting at the bus stop with a child years after they've left the elementary school to continue that relationship and sense of bonding?

[00:45:25]Is a needs improvement having staff and families advocate for the desire for you to maintain your position in the school community that they feel you are an integral part of?

[00:45:35]Is a needs improvement asking for help to make sure that all students and staff are set up for success?

[00:45:41]To us, none of that shows a needs improvement, but yet someone who has a vocation in this profession and dedication to the students and families in this community.

[00:45:50]What is a needs improvement? It's a systemic error that continues to be present in the lack of true understanding of what goes on in our schools from the upper administration.

[00:46:00]Once-in-a-while walk-throughs, once-in-a-while attendance in meetings does not show a true reflection of what goes on day in and day out in the classrooms and from the many talented teachers that are here at District 67.

[00:46:14]What is needs improvement? It's continuous leadership changes every year resulting in the teachers who truly have their hearts and minds in the classroom having to learn new expectations, new procedures, new rules.

[00:46:28]What is needs improvement? It's the lack of truth and transparency from district administration. The teachers are not on board with three second grade classrooms as mentioned at the APT meeting last week.

[00:46:41]What is needs improvement? It's forcing excellent teachers and staff to resign for advocating for students and staff.

[00:46:48]Until we have all of that mentioned under control, not one teacher in this district, especially one who has devoted multiple years and countless hours to our students showing success, should receive a needs improvement.

[00:47:01]We are losing great staff because of poor administrative choices, and this is negatively impacting our school community communities significantly.

[00:47:10]Please start asking the teachers and staff questions because unfortunately the answers you are receiving as a board are not accurate. In fact, they are needs improvement.

[00:47:20]Thank you.

[00:47:22]>> [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board?

[00:47:44]Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

[00:47:46]My name is Frank McCormick. I'm a local dad, a former teacher, and a lifelong member of this community. I graduated at LFHS.

[00:47:54]There's no denying that many in our community are recognizing something important. These incidents involving employee misconduct, bullying, and a lack of parental communication are not one-off events.

[00:48:06]One of the most common questions I hear is, "How did we get here?"

[00:48:11]It's not an easy question, but it reminds me of something a principal once told me.

[00:48:16]What you tolerate, you promote.

[00:48:19]That idea shaped how I ran my classroom because I learned something quickly.

[00:48:24]What I did not address was just as powerful, sometimes more powerful, than what I said.

[00:48:30]When I let a behavior slide, I sent a message. This is acceptable.

[00:48:35]And when students knew that, they did more of it.

[00:48:39]The same principle applies here.

[00:48:41]What we have today is a superintendent who through silence, lack of transparency, and at times dishonesty promotes behavior that leads to real harm.

[00:48:51]Under the superintendent's leadership, here are some instances. The HR director tipped off Evanston schools that we were investigating the middle school child groomer they sent to us.

[00:49:04]LFHS parents were not informed that their child's teacher was dismissed due to sexual chats with a student.

[00:49:10]They were led to believe that it was due to grading practices.

[00:49:15]Parents were not told about a cafeteria worker hitting on a child until we reported.

[00:49:20]A man under police investigation for sexual abuse was hired at Cherokee.

[00:49:25]And his safety director publicly lied about details involving the presence of a registered sex offender near DPM.

[00:49:31]A falsehood the superintendent refused to correct even after the Lake Forest Patch called him out.

[00:49:38]This is what tolerated misconduct looks like.

[00:49:41]And because of what has been tolerated, it has been promoted.

[00:49:45]So, it should not surprise us that we now have a culture where student safety is compromised and parents no longer trust the district.

[00:49:53]So, I have a simple question for the board.

[00:49:55]Will you continue to tolerate this and therefore continue to promote it?

[00:50:01]>> [applause] >> Hi. Uh my name is Nicola Coletto. I'm a Cherokee parent um and I'm here to talk about the uh proposal, I guess, the district's intention to take Cherokee's current second grade class, which has 72 students in four sections, down to three sections next year, an increase of 1/3 in each class, 24 students per section.

[00:50:37]Um this decision was announced at a Cherokee APT meeting. It wasn't on the agenda. Parents had no notice that this was going to be discussed. We had no opportunity to ask questions. No rationale was given for this decision.

[00:50:49]No data was provided to support the decision.

[00:50:53]Um when parents questioned why this decision was being made, which is a change from previous years at Cherokee, we haven't seen class sizes that big, um Dr. Montgomery said that the data says everything will be fine.

[00:51:06]Um Renee Fitzsimmons said that it makes it easier for learning behavior specialists to push into classrooms if there are only three sections instead of having four, which doesn't make any sense. You have the same number of kids just in three different rooms instead of four. Cherokee's not that big that the learning behavior specialists can provide the same level of support in four classrooms.

[00:51:26]Um we haven't heard whether this is a budgetary issue. It doesn't feel like it should be a budgetary issue. We had that you guys have a budget surplus. Doesn't feel like Lake Forest should have budget issues that cause us to have class sizes of that magnitude. Um Dr. Montgomery has been emailing parents. I know you guys have heard from a lot of parents at Cherokee who are concerned about this.

[00:51:47]Um in his emails to parents, he has said that it is the aim of the district to have 24 children per class in third and fourth grade, that this is something that your the district plans for and is a benchmark that the district strives for.

[00:51:59]My question to you is, why would you plan for and aim to have 24 students per class when your ceiling is 25? You have no idea what is going to happen over the summer. Properties are selling in the Lake For- in the Cherokee school district in a matter of days. We could have any number of new students come in over the summer and then we will be we will be over the district's own stated guidelines and ceiling of 25 children per class.

[00:52:23]Um As I said earlier, Dr. Montgomery said that the data shows that children will be fine. We haven't seen that data. I don't know what it is. Um I pulled up some of the testing data. It it's only a correlation, but there is a very clear correlation between increased class sizes showing lower test scores in the peer schools that the district has previously identified.

[00:52:46]Um Parents deserve to know what benefits this change is actually going to provide to us. It's not good enough to say everything will be fine. This is an increase of 1/3 in class sizes.

[00:53:00]To say that everything will be fine without backing that up and without actually giving us concrete benefits, how is this better for all of our children? Children with IEPs, children with behavioral issues. As we have seen, safety is a concern in our schools.

[00:53:13]Adding more children into classrooms is not going to make it easier for teachers to address behavioral concerns.

[00:53:21]Um S- T- uh Parents have a right to be heard and have a right to ask questions. We have received no ability to have a meeting with the district. We've asked for a meeting. We haven't had a response in a positive manner. We have had canned responses from Dr. Montgomery that say, "This is what we're planning for.

[00:53:41]Everything's going to be fine."

[00:53:43]It It's not good enough.

[00:53:45]This is something that the the board needs to step in and address.

[00:53:53]>> [applause] >> Hi. My name is Jessica Connelly. I have a second grader at Cherokee Elementary.

[00:54:10]I also wanted to um present my concerns about the proposed class sizes to increase to affect the third grade uh for the '26-'27 school year.

[00:54:21]Class sizes of 24 are well above the state average and above the majority of the district's own self-identified group of of schools.

[00:54:30]The '24 '24-'25 school year, the state average third grade class size was 21 students. The district itself clearly sees small class sizes as an asset, given that the district average is at the very top graphic on the district homepage.

[00:54:46]There as Nicola said, there's a long and well-documented correlation between small class size and better academic outcomes, particularly at the elementary level. The district, Cherokee staff, and students have worked so hard to improve academic performance and they have made modest gains. However, Cherokee remains the lowest performing school in District 67. Now is the time to continue to push on the strategies that have helped so far, rather than implement changes that could threaten to destabilize the progress that they've been that have they've made.

[00:55:18]>> [applause] >> Hi.

[00:55:33]Uh my name's Nicole Anderson, Nikki Anderson. I have a second grader at Cherokee. I have a fifth grader at DPM.

[00:55:40]My husband is a Scout. He graduated here, I don't know, a long time ago.

[00:55:46]Um My question is, why do we have to keep doing this? Why do we wait until the end of the summer to make decisions we need to make now? Why do we put the budget in front of the children and the teachers in our school?

[00:56:04]We just heard that it sounds like if the teachers speak up or the learning behavior specialists speak up, we just get rid of them because we don't want to hear what they have to say.

[00:56:13]I personally know how this goes. I was here with most of these people for my fifth grade student who was going into fourth grade when we were deciding to break that down to three sections.

[00:56:27]Well, we all know how that happened. We hired a teacher at the very last minute.

[00:56:31]He hadn't completed his background checks. He didn't have I decorated the man's entire classroom. He didn't have a single thing. He had no support and a really terrible leader. And now my fifth grader is drowning because he was not prepared in fourth grade to enter DPM and be successful. So, in a grade of second grade students whose behavior is out of control because we also have inexperienced teachers and now we finally seem to have good leadership there, but inexperienced teachers allowing behavior going crazy, and we think it's a good idea to just make the classes smaller. We can't have more learning behavior specialists if they resign and they don't come to the district because we don't support them.

[00:57:16]I don't know why we have to do this every 2 years just so that we can flex our muscles and say we're waiting for the numbers.

[00:57:22]We have the numbers. We're here in this room saying that we pay taxes and our kids are important and we want you to do your jobs.

[00:57:33]>> [applause] >> Hello everybody. I I I bring some good news for just a little break. Uh Lori might be interested in this, but I was just in Lake Zurich. Scouts baseball team is 14 and two, won 19 to two today against Lake Zurich. So, go Scouts. Um I was watching it on GameChanger, don't worry. Okay. Okay. Uh I just you know, what does oversight look like from a bo- from a board member's perspective?

[00:58:01]>> state your name?

[00:58:02]>> Oh, Philip Mullen, uh Lake Forest resident. Um I have a child in at the high school and at the and two children at the high school, actually. So, what does oversight look like? Um and so, I I don't I you know, I've never been on the board. Um I've never been on one of these things, so I don't really know.

[00:58:16]So, this could just be imagination, but it but this is kind of what I was kind of thinking about on my way back from Lake Zurich. Um And I've talked to several of you guys, you know, so I I sort of hear kind of the the tone. Um if you have an idea if you have an idea of what you want to do, you're on the board, you've been elected to do it, and you feel like you're not being heard or you're not having the opportunity to exercise it. I I challenge you guys and I challenge everybody in this room in our community. It's a very talented community with with a lot of very talented Reach out to the community. It doesn't have to be you guys responding to the public. You guys can reach out and solicit the help, and you could either uh work within the institutions uh like there's many committees and groups that that people get involved, but we can also work on with outside the system and try to bring kind of reform or your ideas to the school district, um you know, from the outside in. So, that's one.

[00:59:06]Uh number two, um you know, I don't really I've never been on the board, but there's these legal councils and um you know, I I I imagine that there's could be helpful, but also somewhat of a pernicious in the public body.

[00:59:20]Um you know, they're there to cover the ass of the school of the of the school district, you know? And you guys are here to represent the public, right? So, we have interests. And so, if you're like told, "Don't talk to the parents because there's a personal, there might be a lawsuit, that sort of thing."

[00:59:36]Understand what you can and can't say, but I don't think maybe one of you or none of you guys spoke to the parents who who started our our public discussion today.

[00:59:44]Don't feel that you're handcuffed or that you have or you're muzzled. You have the right to go and talk to whomever you want, whether it be a teacher who got let go unjustly, whether it be a parent who's aggrieved. You guys can talk to whomever you want, and remember that. You guys aren't holding to the institution. You guys represent us on the outside as well.

[01:00:04]Three, if you're invited to socialize from a member of the administration, be cautious and be wary.

[01:00:11]They're not your friends. You're there to provide oversight. You guys can be friends once you're off the board, but while you're on the board, you're not their buddy. You're not to go to their house and hang out and socialize, in my opinion anyway. I think you should you should be very wary about fraternizing with it with administrative leaders who you're supposed to be providing oversight. And lastly, if you're told that state law prohibits an idea that you want to do, be very very cautious about that answer, okay? Cuz that is a easy way to bureaucrat you guys off the off the scent. If you're strong and you know what you want to do, ask for a memo. Say what law, I'd like to have a legal analysis of what law is preventing this thing, and then ask how far can we go to achieve my policy objective. Don't don't let them blame Springfield for for what you want to do.

[01:00:57]Thank you very much.

[01:01:02]>> [applause] >> Hi, I am Tim Flynn. I am the parent of uh two 8-year-old boys in the second grade class. They are twins. Uh and they are in separate classrooms, so I have a slightly uh broader perspective on the classroom dynamics that happen in the second grade.

[01:01:28]Uh my boys are generally speaking doing well, but what I have heard this year and in several years prior are consistent stories about peer behavior in the classroom that disrupts their ability to learn, to focus, and feel safe and settled every day in class.

[01:01:46]Now, keeping in mind the fact that 8-year-olds can somewhat generously be said to be unreliable narrators, um I still have to square what they say against what I hear from other parents, other school uh officials, staff, and other kids.

[01:02:01]And those themes remain consistent between what I hear from my children say and what I'm hearing other people in the community voice.

[01:02:08]So, I was slightly surprised a couple of weeks ago at the APT meeting when it was announced that we are going to pivot and condense the classroom size from four classrooms currently in the second grade to three next year.

[01:02:21]Uh the administration, our superintendents, uh voiced confidence in their uh statistics behind that decision um and their ability to pivot based on indicators from uh standardized assessments from MAP, IAR, FastBridge, uh and I don't dispute that. Um there has been student achievement gains in those um in those assessments.

[01:02:44]However, those assessments don't capture behavioral data that happens at the at the classroom level.

[01:02:49]Uh so, what I would ask the board is in that meeting, and Dr. Montgomery, you mentioned that uh there was a vague sort of um nod to taking in to account behavioral data.

[01:03:01]What I would ask the board um respectfully is that we have some transparency behind what those behavioral data points are. If the uh district is intent on condensing these classrooms, I would like to know and have documented what exactly are the exact metrics or KPIs that go into making that decision, how it gets how a pivot point is made.

[01:03:23]Um and then also, whether or not the behavioral and intervention committee of this board has been consulted and provided input into this decision, um and if they will be going forward.

[01:03:33]Uh thank you for your time.

[01:03:38]>> [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board?

[01:04:00]Hello, my name is Kelly Cohen. Um I have an eighth grade boy at DPM.

[01:04:07]My daughter graduated last year from DPM, and she's at a private high school at the moment.

[01:04:19]When you stated Facebook rumors, these aren't Facebook rumors. These are repeated acts from students onto students. These these acts of violence and the negligence on your part to protect this child, to protect other children from these children, from students who are violent to other students.

[01:04:49]It's unacceptable. Dr. Montgomery, you have been at plenty of meetings where we have discussed this. This is not something new. We shouldn't be looking into it now.

[01:05:01]It was gross negligence on your part that this child had to go through this when the attackers had a history of attacking other children.

[01:05:16]It's unacceptable, and they're not Facebook rumors. They're facts.

[01:05:24]Thank you.

[01:05:26]>> [applause] [applause] >> ARE THERE ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD?

[01:05:49]Seeing no one else, I want to thank everyone who had the courage to speak up tonight. We sincerely appreciate the public comment, the public feedback. Um there are more people in this room that have showed up in the last 3 years combined that I've been on this board.

[01:06:03]So, that passion is fantastic. I appreciate that community involvement.

[01:06:09]This is an opportunity because the people that showed up tonight are the people that care.

[01:06:13]We need people that care. We need people that care on this board.

[01:06:16]Next year, there are going to be spots in this board available. So, I'd encourage all of those you that care show up care enough to show up tonight and speak up after your kids, think about serving on the board. It's fantastic. I would encourage you to.

[01:06:27]So, thank you for showing up.

[01:06:32]May I have a motion to adjourn the Lake Forest School District 67 board meeting for April 21st, 2022? So moved.

[01:06:39]Second.

[01:06:41]Second.

[01:06:43]May I have a voice vote, please? All in favor, say yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.