Edison Elementary School

August 19, 2025
Elmhurst District 205 
Board of Education Meeting Highlights 

Reports and Presentations

York Boys Water Polo Recognition
The Board of Education is proud to recognize the York High School Boys Water Polo Team for their outstanding 2025 season. The Dukes advanced to the IHSA State Tournament, where they reached the semifinals and went on to capture third place in Illinois with a decisive 9–5 victory over Whitney Young. Their success reflects the skill, determination, and teamwork of the student-athletes, the guidance of their coaches, and the support of their families and school community. The Board congratulates the team for bringing pride and recognition to York High School and Elmhurst District 205 through their dedication and excellence both in and out of the pool.

Girls Water Polo Recognition
The Board of Education congratulates the York High School Girls Water Polo Team on an outstanding 2025 season. The Dukes advanced through a challenging schedule and postseason to reach the IHSA State Tournament, where they earned a spot among the top four teams in Illinois. Competing with determination and intensity, York secured a fourth-place finish, demonstrating resilience, teamwork, and pride in representing their school. This success reflects the dedication of the athletes, the leadership of their coaches, and the strong support of their families and community. The Board commends the team for their accomplishments and the recognition they have brought to York High School and Elmhurst District 205.

FCCLA Recognition
At the 2025 FCCLA National Leadership Conference, all Elmhurst District 205 students who competed earned medals for their outstanding performances. Madeline Brooks received a silver medal in Say Yes to FCS Education. The Event Management Team of Alice Moyle, McKenzie Szczepanek, and April Vierow earned a gold medal in their category and placed third overall in the nation. In addition, Madeline Valeski earned a gold medal in Repurpose and Redesign, showcasing exceptional creativity and skill. These accomplishments highlight the students’ dedication as well as the support of their teachers, families, and peers, and the Board of Education congratulates them for representing Elmhurst 205 with excellence on the national stage.

Agenda Action and Consent Items

Fiscal Year 2026 Tentative Budget
In compliance with Illinois School Code, the tentative budget for the 2025–26 school year has been prepared and will be available for public inspection at the District Administrative Office. A public hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2025, with final adoption of the budget planned for that evening. The budget reflects the District’s priorities to align resources with goals and support student achievement, instruction, and operations.

Agency Staffing Contracts for Special Education
The District has completed most of its staffing for the year but continues to face shortages in certain educational assistant positions and a few specialized roles. To ensure buildings have the support they need, the District engaged with staffing agencies on flexible contracts that allow releases if permanent hires are made. The proposed contracts include educational assistants and a nurse from Amergis, and a school psychologist from Soliant, at a total cost of $229,575. These expenses are budgeted within special education accounts, and union leadership has been notified in accordance with the PSRP agreement. Administration recommends authorizing the execution of these staffing contracts for the 2025–26 school year.

Consent to Utilize Authorized Signature Stamp for Contract Approval
In order to meet critical deadlines and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of District programs and services, the Board is asked to approve the use of authorized signature stamps for the Board President and Board Secretary on certain contracts. The stamps would only be used when both officers have reviewed and approved the contract terms in advance, and when timely execution is necessary. Administration recommends approval of this consent as presented.

Affirmation of District Life Safety Survey
The Illinois State Board of Education requires school districts to conduct a facilities safety survey every ten years to ensure compliance with state codes and standards. The most recent Life Safety Survey was completed in 2024, identifying violations and recommendations categorized by urgency, with an estimated $40 million in work projected over the next decade. The District continues to address safety, maintenance, and infrastructure needs as part of its ongoing facilities work. The Board is asked to certify the completeness of the survey, identify funding sources, and approve the Application for Approval of the Ten-Year Safety Survey Report as submitted.

Superintendent's Communication & Communications Highlight

Staffing Highlight 
I'm happy to update the Board with a few quick stats on our current fill rates as we start the school year.  Our administrators have worked since early spring to staff our schools with educators and support personnel that add to our talent in D205.

For our certified group, we have only 1 current vacancy across our system, with a fill plan for it to be fully staffed.  Our principals and district leadership are excited for these educators to shine in their new positions and will work to support them throughout the year.

Educational Assistants are essential members of the Student Services team as well as school teams.  We continue to see less vacancies year to year with this group and are currently 91% staffed.  This is a 6% improvement compared to last year at this time.  In addition and as a result, we continue to limit and minimize use of agency personnel, with 9 less personnel right now compared to last school year.  While we appreciate the service from external providers, our shared goal is to be fully staffed in PSRP.  Of note, all but one of the providers approved tonight are filling a leave of absence, not an open position.  

For maintenance and custodial, we are 96.5% staffed with 2 FTE to fill.  Their services are critical to our objective of high quality learning environments and facilities.

Finally a special mention to our district substitutes.  Their part of the puzzle in schools ensures learning continues each day.  Last year at this time we had 128 and have increased to 162 subs in our system.

We will continue our collective work of attracting, selecting, and retaining high quality, purpose driven educators and staff and thank the Board for their support.

Back to School Highlights and Information
We are now in the second week of school!  We had a great start to the year and were excited to welcome all of our students back.  On August 6th there was an email that was shared with all D205 families to let them know about a couple of new features that have been launched this school year.  

• Attendance module: Families can now report a student absence online through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. This feature sends your submission directly to the school office, while still allowing you to call if that’s your preference. Families can report absences for today or the next school day and all submissions are sent directly to the school office.
  

• Bus tracker:  Our partners at First Student are excited to bring you FirstView®, a GPS-based mobile app that allows families to see their student’s bus in real time and receive notifications when it’s approaching. Some of the new features include: 

  • The ability to see the bus location and estimated arrival time.

  • Get alerts when the bus is close to your stop (set up to 3 notifications).

  • Share updates with caregivers or family members.
    

• Important Dates Graphic: For the second year in a row we also created and shared our important dates graphics.  These are one stop locations for information on holiday, spring and winter breaks, no attendance days and late start days.