Board Highlights are meant to provide highlights of each Board of Education meeting, and are not intended to be an all-inclusive recap. Please click on this link to view a complete recording of the April 10, 2024, Board of Education meeting.
District 200
Host school report
The April 10, 2024, Board of Education meeting was hosted by Emerson Elementary School. To kick off the meeting, Principal Debra Klein was joined by students who shared this presentation about Emerson Elementary School.
FLES curriculum content posted for community review
At their meeting, the board approved the posting of Spanish Language Arts content for grades 4-5 for community review and feedback. Spanish Language Arts is a requirement for Transitional Bilingual Education programs. One programming model for Spanish Language Arts is called Foreign Language Elementary Schools (FLES).
Johnson and Pleasant Hill elementary schools are providing all students in first through third grade the opportunity to learn Spanish and enrich their skills through FLES. The program began in the 2021-22 school year and expanded by one grade level each year. For the 2024-25 school year, Spanish Language Arts/FLES will be offered in grades 1-4 at Johnson and Pleasant Hill elementary schools. The Multilingual Department collaboratively developed curriculum content for fourth and fifth grade FLES and revised the curriculum for grades 1-3 to align to the Illinois State Board of Education’s Spanish Language Arts Standards.
The grades 4-5 curriculum content will be on display at the School Service Center, located at 130 W. Park Ave., in Wheaton, and will be posted on the District website.
Questions and comments can be directed to Dr. Limaris Pueyo, Director of Equity and Multilingual Learners, at limaris.pueyo@cusd200.org or 630-682-2006.
High school novels posted for community review
On a yearly basis, District 200 staff can recommend novels to be added to the approved list. At their meeting, the Board approved six texts to be posted for community review and feedback These books are for the following courses:
AP Language and Composition
British Literature
Freshmen English
These texts will be available for community review at the School Service Center, located at 130 W. Park Ave., in Wheaton, and will be posted on the District website.
Questions and comments can be directed to Ian Smith, Director of High School Instruction, at ian.smith@cusd200.org or 630-682-2464.
Patrick Graff named new Assistant Principal at Bower Elementary School
At their April 10 meeting, the Board of Education approved Patrick Graff as the new Assistant Principal at Bower Elementary School beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Mr. Graff will be replacing Mrs.Katie DeLaRosa, who will serve as Principal at Emerson Elementary School beginning next year.
Mr. Graff comes to District 200 from Lisle Elementary School where he currently serves as the Dean of Students since 2022. Prior to that, he spent four years teaching fifth grade at Lisle Elementary School, and he began his career as a first grade teacher at Circle Center Grade School in Yorkville for two years. Mr. Graff earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an endorsement in language arts from DePaul University, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from National Louis University.
Bower Elementary School Principal Bridget Moore is thrilled to welcome Mr. Graff to her administrative team. “I want to congratulate Mr. Graff on his appointment as the new Assistant Principal at Bower,” said Moore. “Mr. Graff’s experience and knowledge as an administrator at a large elementary school will be a great addition to Bower. He is eager to build positive relationships with students, staff and parents, and we can’t wait to see all that he will accomplish when he joins us next year.”
Mr. Graff is looking forward to his new role as Assistant Principal at Bower. “I am truly honored to be selected to serve as the next Assistant Principal at Bower,” said Graff. “I look forward to joining the Bower community and getting to know every staff member, student, and parent. The staff has already been incredibly welcoming, and I look forward to joining this amazing team.”
Middle school capital project discussion
At their meeting, the Board continued reviewing and discussing the middle school capital projects at Edison, Franklin and Monroe middle schools. During this portion of the meeting, the Board reviewed and discussed the following:
Program development
Community engagement development
Open discussion
To view the presentation, please click on this link.
Board approves food service management contract with Organic Life
District 200 participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In June 2019, the Board approved a contract with Organic Life, LLC to provide food service management for District 200. The current contract expires on June 30, 2024.
As a result, District 200 utilized a Request for Proposal (RFP) from food service management vendors. District 200 completed an extensive review and evaluation of the five proposals it received from vendors.
At their meeting, the Board approved a new Food Service Management contract with Organic Life, LLC.
Board approves transportation contract extension with Illinois Central School Bus
In March 2019, the Board awarded a three-year contract for student transportation services to Illinois Central School Bus, LLC, which is set to expire on June 30, 2024.
At their meeting, the Board approved a contract extension with Illinois Central for three additional one year periods for the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 school years; with a 14% increase in the first year, a 4.75% increase in the second year, and a 3.75% increase in the third year. The three-year extension allows the District to build in cost certainty for the next three years, while lowering the rates that were proposed to District 200 in years one and two. The estimated cost increase of the contract for the first year of the renewal at 14% is $1M.
Board approves fuel purchasing agreement for bus transportation
District 200 has an existing contract for bus transportation services with Illinois Central School Bus that includes all daily general and in-district special education routes. The contract with Illinois Central includes a fuel surcharge clause, which requires District 200 to reimburse Illinois Central for diesel fuel that costs more than $1.95 per gallon, plus the federal excise tax ($0.243).
At their meeting, the Board approved an agreement in which Illinois Central will remove the fuel surcharge from future contractual agreements by taking over the purchase of fuel directly by the District 200 Business Office beginning July 1.
District 200 and Keeneyville School District 20 enter intergovernmental fuel purchasing agreement
Currently, District 200 and Keeneyville School District 20 are the only districts serviced by Illinois Central Bus Company’s facility in Carol Stream. Now that District 200 is taking over direct control of fuel purchasing at the Carol Stream site, we have offered Keeneyville School District 20 the service of purchasing fuel on their behalf as well. This allows both school districts access to tax savings and offers full control over fuel purchasing for both districts.
At their meeting, the Board approved an Intergovernmental Fuel Purchasing Agreement for a period of three years.