Glenbrook High School District 225 officials are looking ahead to the next three school years and want public input into their strategic planning.
Superintendent Mike Riggle told school board members Monday that officials plan to take a look at District 225’s current curriculum, financial and infrastructure challenges, and student wellness issues – and how to address them.
The district will officially announce the initiative and post an online survey in mid-September. A series of planning meetings are tentatively slated for Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 18 and Dec. 9.
Administrators plan to take those recommendations and develop an action plan for presentation to the board on Feb. 22.
District 225 has conducted formal strategic planning and public opinion surveys in the past, but this format is new, said Karen Geddeis, spokeswoman for the district.
“It’s unique to what we’re trying to learn from our community at this time,” Geddeis said.
For example, she said, “student wellness” is a broad topic that includes physical, mental and emotional health, and whether the homework load is too much, just right or too little.
While district officials know what they think “student wellness” means, Geddeis asked what parents and community residents think it means and what thoughts or ideas they might have about it.
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Along with students, parents, teachers and district employees, the district is looking for between 30 and 50 participants from the general public, although that is a general guideline, Geddeis said.
“We’re open to everybody who wants to participate. There is no cap on this,” she said.
The last strategic planning initiative was held in 2005, Geddeis said. With new principals at Glenbrook North and South high schools, officials feel the timing is right to seek “deeper input” from the public, she said.
Riggle said the district’s challenges include the uncertainty of general school funding and the potential for a property tax freeze, which both depend on the Democratically controlled General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner finding common ground, and the addition of a civics class for seniors, which will be required for graduation.
The state law doesn’t specify a date for when that civics class becomes mandatory, which means the default date would be June 1, 2016, Riggle said.
Because Glenbrook is among many high school districts whose graduation dates are after June 1, “I can tell you, probably with assurance, that almost certainly won’t happen” in District 225 during the 2015-16 school year, he said.
The Illinois State Board of Education must clarify that situation, Riggle said.
On Monday, the District 225 board also approved new four-year contracts with the Glenbrook Educational Support Staff Association and the Glenbrook Educational Support Paraprofessionals Association.
The contract with GESSA provides average salary hikes of 3 percent annually through 2017-18, with a provision to negotiate total compensation for 2018-19, officials said.
The contract with GESPA provides a 2.8 percent salary hike for the current fiscal year, 2.5 percent in 2016-17, and 2.3 percent in 2017-18, officials said. Total compensation for the 2018-19 year remains to be negotiated, they said.
Non-union employees will get base salary hikes of 1.5 percent, officials said.
GESSA and GESPA represent about 354 district employees, including teacher aides and technical and secretarial staff, officials said.
Jon Davis is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.