Luke Bancroft

7/24/2017

Education 1100

School Board Meeting response

The meeting that I have chosen to attend is through DuPage high school district 88 Addison Trail

Willowbrook. It is from February of 2017 and is posted online. The meeting began with the introduction

of a very accomplished student who won an award called 88s best on the behalf of Addison Trail.

After she was introduced and spoke, the winner from Willowbrook was introduced and spoke. It wowed

me how much some kids achieve in high school. I forgot how ambitious kids are in high school. It

defiantly made me think of stepping up my game. Next was roll call and they then talked about a

program in which kids attended AT and WHS for twelve days through a program. It was very interesting

to learn about the kids experience. They showed a clip of them making pizza at Aurelios pizza, which I

got a kick out of because I cook at Giordanos. They said that the biggest differences are the school

atmosphere and music. Im not sure how exactly the atmosphere is different but I believe that it is. I

thought it was very interesting that they only hear music in school around once a month. Hearing that

makes me grateful that I went through the education system that I went through. The next topic

covered was the staffing process and associated timeline. In which they talked about placing kids into

classes for the fall. I remember every spring, registering for the next year and usually having quite a bit

to think about. I never thought about all that has to be done to coordinate it all, so hearing a

conversation about it offered me some new perspectives. Next was a motion to establish a consent

agenda. It seemed to me that this is essentially a review of what expenditures have been approved by

the school board. A lot of the stuff that they went over was very boring and over my head. While I

cannot offer much of a perspective as to the specifics and details that they got into, I found it interesting
to hear about all the different things that they talked about involving tax money. I found it amazing that

they are even able to keep track of it all because I hardly understood anything that they talked about. It

goes to show all the different ways that tax money fluctuates. It kind of amazes me how many big bills

that they have to pay and are currently unable to. There was also some good news in terms of some

expenditures, but I did not really understand what exactly that good news was. Apparently, it has to do

with the cost of gas, which I dont see as a big expenditure for schools, but I could be wrong. Also, they

mentioned that Special Ed and Alternative schools have more than adequate funding which I thought

was cool. I think those should defiantly be primary expenditures. From there, it was a lot of things being

approved and briefed. Then announcements at the end. Overall, it reminded me a lot of a courtroom. It

was like a courtroom because there was a clear leader of the group and everything got done in a very

timely and orderly fashion. I was also very surprised with all that they covered looking back at the start

of the meeting. It goes to show that there is a lot put into education that students do not think about.

Link to school board meeting: https://dupage88.net/site/page/6334#

Agenda: Roll Call

Petitions and Hearings

Recognition of District 88 Successes

A. 88's Best Students
Addison Trail
Willowbrook
B. Video Highlighting Visitors From China

Educational Focus Item

A. The Staffing Process and Associated Time Line

Motion To Establish Consent Agenda

The items of the consent agenda were reviewed and discussed by the board and administration at a previous
meeting, or are routine items (meeting minutes). Reports and data were reviewed prior to being recommended for the
consent agenda.

Separate Action Items

 A. Treasurer's Report for January 2017
B. Budget Status Report for January 2017
C. List of Bills Exceeding $5,000.00
D. Check #528901 in the amount of $189.00 to Jay Irvin for the Illinois Association of School Board
Conference Reimbursement
E. Auditor Service Contract 2017
F. Bus Transportation Service 2017-18
G. Appointment of Member to the Willowbrook Citizens Advisory Council
H. Resolution of Annual Expenses per Board Policy 2:125
I. Personnel

Information/Discussion Items
A. Credit Card Summary

School Recognition - Assistant Principals

Willowbrook
Addison Trail

Board Member Report(s) / Future Agenda Items

Announcements
Regular Business Board Meeting: Monday, March 6, 2017, 7:30 p.m., District Boardroom located at District
Administrative Offices, 2 Friendship Plaza, Addison, IL 60101.
Educational Focus Board Meeting: Monday, March 20, 2017, 7:30 p.m., District Boardroom located at District
Administrative Offices, 2 Friendship Plaza, Addison, IL 60101.

Closed Session Meeting