District 201 Board Meeting - June 13, 2007

[Ted]

  This is a summary of the District 201 board meeting that occurred on June 13, 2007.  The meeting did not start until 7:40 PM (40 minutes late) but Gail Kopf did come into the room at around 7:10 and said the board would be about 15 minutes late.  The meeting ended at around 9:10 PM.


1. Education Township District 39 is F.U.B..A.R. - The major issue of discussion tonight involved the financial state and dissolution of Education Township 39. Education Township 39 was a governmental entity created 125 to 150 years ago for the school districts in what was then Cicero Township (which included Berwyn, Cicero, Oak Park and Austin). Its function is to provide investment, financial and accounting services to the school districts in Oak Park, Cicero and Berwyn.  It is the governmental entity which actually has title and owns all the assets of the school districts.  It is a useless anachronism from the horse and buggy days of 125 years ago.

  In the past few years the financial state of District 39 has become a mess.  It underpaid taxes for the Oak Park elementary school district (district 97) and the Cicero elementary school district (District 99). Both district had to pay penalties to the IRS.  Last fall, the District 39 supervisor and his entire staff was fired for financial malfesance. A consulting firm has been running the District 39 offices since October of 2006.

  This legislative session, Oak Park State Senator Don Harmon introduced legislation to allow the Oak Park elementary school and high school districts to leave District 39.  At the same time, each school district put a referendum on the April ballot to dissolve District 39. That referendum passed. Dissolution will occur on either June 30, 2007 or January 1, 2008.

  At the board meeting tonight, information about the financial state of District 39 was brought out and it was not good. Among other things, it was stated:

   + District 39 is increasing their fees from District 201 from $109,000 to $276,000.  Since Distrct 39 is the entity that actually has the money, they appear to be just taking that extra $157,000 without getting approval.  District 39 sent a letter to District 201 (which was accepted as informational) saying they were increasing their fees to $276,000.

   + District 39 appears to have "lost" around $400,000.  Not "lost" as in made bad investments;  I mean "lost" in that the books say it should have $400,000 more dollars in the bank than it actually has.

   + District 39 paid $800,000 for an audit; When District 201 asked to see the audit report, it was told there was no audit report.

   + The expected cost of using District 39 had been budgeted at $400,000; it now appears that the actual cost will be more in the range of $1.2 million dollars.

   + The Oak Park districts are bailing out and demanding their money immediately. Given the current state of affairs, if the Oak Park districts are given their share and the audit shows a large "hole" in the finances that have to be filled, Cicero and Berwyn would be left holding the bag and paying for not only its own portion of the debt but Oak Park's portion of the "hole" as well.


  The following actions were taken by the board:

   a) Accept as informational that District 39 is demanding an extra $157,000 in fees for work up through April, 2007 (from $109,000 to $276,000).  Joe Keating made a motion to not cut the check.  Dr. Nowakowski then pointed out that it is District 39 that actually has and controls District 201's bank account and that they can just take the money (sort of).

   b) Accept as informational a report from District 39 on its status.

   c) Approved an intergovernmental agreement between all school districts in District 39 regarding the dissolution of District 39.

   d) Voted to pursue litigation against Oak Park elementary Distrct 97 and Oak Park High School District 200 from pulling out from District 39.

   e) Tabled a resolution to withdraw from the jurisdiction of DIstrict 39

   f) Tabled an intergovernmental agreement with District 98 and District 100 to provide accounting and financial services to District 98 and District 100 that are currently provided by District 39 (cutting checks for payroll and payables, accounting services, investment services, etc.). This was tabled because Cicero Elementary School District 99 expressed interest in participating in the intergovernmental agreement.


2 School board attorney replaced - The board replaced previous school board attorney John Donohue with the firm of Gilio and Delgado. Mr Michael DeBartolo from the firm of Gilio and Delgado was introduced as the new school board attorney.  Joe Keating voted NAY.  In a short speech, Mr. Keating stated that he had known and respected John Donohue for over 19 years and felt he had been a fine lawyer for the board. He further stated that his vote should not be construed as anything negative toward the law firm of Gilio and Delgado.

   The replacement of the school board attorney had been something that had been speculated on since the new school board members were elected in April. New school board president Jeff Pesek had had run ins with David Donohue, the man who ran Cicero when Betty Loren Maltese was around.  Eventually, Pesek won a $1 million dollar settlement against the Town of Cicero for damages that he claimed David Donohue had inflicted on his business.  So, the replacement of John Donohue was something that had been talked about and speculated upon.


3. Committees - The new school board is going to create committees to handle and look at various matters.  Joe Keating requested that he be on the Finance Committee. This is something new because the previous board did not have committees.


4. Graduations - Graduation ceremonies were held last weekend.  699 seniors graduated from Morton East. 560 seniors graduated from Morton West.


5. Award presentations - Several student groups received awards for outstanding achievement.  They were:

  a) The Girls Softball Team for winning the Regional Championship (beating Riverside/Brookfield in a come from behind victory).  The girls team almost won the sectional final, losing 2-1.

  b) The Boys Track and Field team for winning a variety of awards, including the state champ in the triple jump as well as several regional champs.

  c) The film school students for winning several prizes in the Chicago High School Video festival, including second place in the commercial video category, first place in the Stop/Still category and first place in the dramatic category (for "Haunted Jail Cell")

  d) The film school students for winning 1st place in the Chicago School of Pediatrics video competition for a film about healthy eating habits, using Family Feud as its theme to get across points about healthy eating.  The film was assisted by students in English as a Second Language and was in both Spanish and English. The video is going to be used in elementary schools through out the Chicago area.


6. Where's my wife's job?  - During the open forum, a man named Rudy Valdez came up, pointed to several of the board members and said "You all know who I am.  Where's the job you promised for my wife? I've been waiting since January".  Mr. Valdez then accused Dr. Nowakowski of avoiding his calls about a job for his wife. Dr. Nowakowski promised to call Mr. Valdez the next day.


7. I can get it cheaper - During the discussion of bids for athletic supplies, new school board member Michael Iniquez questioned the price of softballs, volleyballs and baseballs. Dr. Nowakowski explained that they went out to bid and those were the lowest bid. Mr. Iniquez then asked whether R&M of Summit had submitted bids because that was where he bought softballs for his softball league and asked whether softballs, baseballs and volleyballs could be re-bid.  Dr. Nowakowski explained that the board could always refuse the lowest bid and could go out and re-bid.  Joe Keating asked whether the request for bids had been published and would they have to be re-published if the board were to re-bid.  In the end, the board decided to table acceptance of bids until it was investigated whether lower prices could be gotten for some of the items.  The total amount bid for all athletic supply items was $22,194.


8. A tree for Morton West - The students at Morton West have donated a tree in memory of the students that were killed in Riverside in that car accident a few months ago.  The tree will be planted in a common quad area that students use at lunch time.


9. New football uniforms - The Football Parents Club have bought new uniforms for the varsity football team from NIke. They were able to get a very low cost. Total price was $8,000. Mustang54 showed off the new uniforms.


10. Advanced Placement Program grant - The board approved receipt of a grant for the Advanced Placement Program.  During the discussion on this topic, it was stated that 104 students had take the Spanish version of the ACT and 96% of them had done very well.


11. Arts Planning Grant - The board approved receipt of a grant of $38,000 to create a plan that will incorporate art into the curricula of other subjects such as history, math and science. The money will be used to pay teachers working on the project and university personnel hired to QA the project.


12. Other items:

   + Adopted prevailing/union wage resolution
   + Approved using tiled floor rather than linoleum floor for the alternative school
   + Approved worker's comp and property casualty insurance. 
      Property casulty will be $257,000 (down 1.4% from previous year);
      Workman comp insurance will be $561,000 (up by 1%)
   + Paid dues to Illinois Association of School Boards
   + Approved board meeting dates and school calendar for next year. 
      The board approved making Sadie Hawkins Day (February 29) a school holiday for the floating holiday so that it would be a 4 day weekend since Pulaski Day was the following Monday.
   + Paid the bills and payroll; expelled students (24 expulsions); hired summer school staff and other personnel matters;   
   + Approved travel expenses for summer travel by the tennis team
   + Approved teacher pay for working on curricula this summer
   + Accepted lowest bids on office supplies (except permanent magic markers) and Athletic trainer supplies


  The board will hold a special meeting the last week in June to further discuss Distrct 39 issues and to create committee assignments.

[Bonster]

   + Paid the bills and payroll; expelled students (24 expulsions); hired summer school staff and other personnel matters;   

Was that for the entire year, or the last month of school?

[Ted]

   + Paid the bills and payroll; expelled students (24 expulsions); hired summer school staff and other personnel matters;   

Was that for the entire year, or the last month of school?

For just last month... each month, the board approves paying the bills and payroll; votes on expelling students and votes on personnel matters.

  Each month, I would say there are around 15 to 30 students expelled each month, with most being sent to the Alternative School.  But, there are also some students that are expelled each month forever or for a long period of time without re-assignment to the alternative school.

  In May, about half of the  students were expelled for 1 or 2 years with re-assignment to the alternative school; the other half without assignment to the alternative school and 3 were what were called "formal" expulsions and they cannot return to the school until a certain date (August/2008; January/2009; September/2009).  I am not clear myself what the difference is between a "regular" expulsion and a "formal" expulsion.

  Also, the board votes on personnel matters each month as well. This month there were a lot of personnel matters in order to staff summer school and the athletic staffs but there were other staff decisions, including:
   + Hiring a new Dean of Students (Joseph Bruzzino)
   + Hiring a new Assistant Principal  (Salandra Wood)
   + Hiring 12 new teachers
   + Hiring a new school psychologist
   + HIring  a new school counselor
   + Appointing curricula content advisors (7)
   + Appointing 2 new student advisors at MW
   + Re-hiring 39 full time coaches
   + Hiring two new "job" coaches (not sure what a "job" coach is)
   + Hiring a new computer technician
   + Hiring  a summer intern
   + Hiring 8 counselors for summer school
   + Hiring 50 teachers for summer school
   + Hiring a librarian for summer school
   + Hiring a nurse for summer school
   + Hiring 2 food service personnel for summer school
   + Hiring 10 janitors for summer school
   + Hiring 15 book store employees for summer school
   + HIring a teaching assistant for summer school
   + HIring a clerical assistant for summer school
   + Hiring  a security man for summer school
   + HIring a teacher's adie for summer school
   + Hiring a drivers education co-ordinator for summer school
   + Accepted resginations of three teachers and one janitor
   + Changed the retirement date for one teacher from June 2008 to June 2009 (due to some changes in Illinois law)

All of the non summer school hirings are for filling existing positions where the previous person in that position left.  There is only one new position (a position for Auto/ITS teacher)

  Ted

[Bonster]

Cheeses H. Rice!!!!!!!!!!

150-250 STUDENTS EXPELLED PER SCHOOL YEAR!?!?!?!?!!!!!
Insane.  These are the kids our teenagers are growing up with around here?

Please tell me this is culture shock and due in part to Berwyn's density.

[Ted]

Cheeses H. Rice!!!!!!!!!!

150-250 STUDENTS EXPELLED PER SCHOOL YEAR!?!?!?!?!!!!!
Insane.  These are the kids our teenagers are growing up with around here?

Please tell me this is culture shock and due in part to Berwyn's density.

  One of the issues that was brought up during the campaign was that the claim that the previous board was too strict on expelling students and sending them to the alternative school (at least, that is what some of the parents of expelled students claimed).

  These parents claimed that the board had a "one and done" policy and that some students were expelled and sent to the alternative school for goofing off in class just once.  I remember one school board meeting where the parent of the expelled student claimed that that was all her son did - goofed off one time in class and told an off color joke.

  It does appear that there has been frustration building up against the board by some parents of expelled students (especially parents who speak only Spanish and did not realize what had happened to their child).  Several parents have claimed the board policy on expulsion was too strict and kids were getting expelled for minor issues.
   
  I am just repeating what parents have stated, so take it with a grain of salt. 

  I also think what most people would think of an "expulsion" are the formal expulsions.  There are only 1 to 3 formal expulsions per month.  The other "expulsions" seem to be re-assignment to the alternative school for disruptive or bad behaviour.  I should say that students also get re-assigned back from alternative school to the regular school.  This month, 9 students were assigned back from alternative school back to regular school.

  Ted

[Bonster]

ahh, thanks for clarifying that, sir.  that's more on par with what we had...

We had an East and West campus (one school), but the regularly "bad" kids were sent to this "Central" campus.

The ones who were caught for major infractions (smoking pot on campus) were expelled for the remainder of the semester, and just stayed home, having to make up the time in summer school, usually graduating (officially) a semester behind.

[Shelley]

It would be interesting to hear from some of the teachers who read this board.  200 out of 8140 students is less than 2 1/2 %.  I wonder what the percentage of expulsions is in other districts? 

Also concerning:  1.  District 39 making the financial bottom line even more depressing...when does the 201 Board present next year's budget anyway?  2.  Firing the lawyer for what appears to be political reasons not job performance. 

[delbowz]

I'd love to know more about the "where's my wife's job" -

wondering is she was a political supporter or actually a qualified candidate...

Denise

[Ted]

I'd love to know more about the "where's my wife's job" -

wondering is she was a political supporter or actually a qualified candidate...

Denise

Denise,

  I was wondering the same thing...  It seemed to me that his opening sentence indicated he was (or thought he was) politically connected (e.g. "you all know who I am"), but I sure as heck didn't know who he was.

  I thought he sounded rather arrogant and it sounded like Nowakowski had been trying to avoid him and his phone calls for several months (or at least, that was his accusation).

  I doubt the expectation of hiring was based on merit or need, given the financial state of the district.  It sounded to me like this guy was expecting a patronage job and didn't get the job (but that's just speculation on my part).

  Ted
 

[Berwyn Patsy]

On a positive note, it does my heart good to think there are now some people on the board who have manners.
Thank you Gail Krof for having the common decency to let the audience know, things were running a little behind time.
I guess some of my B and M was heard.
I don't know what to make of the 1 million dollar law suit that Jeff Pesek won.  I guess it would be uncomfortable to keep the same lawyer. So where did Gilio /Delgado come from?

[Ted]

I don't know what to make of the 1 million dollar law suit that Jeff Pesek won.  I guess it would be uncomfortable to keep the same lawyer. So where did Gilio /Delgado come from?

  Well, according to this article, the name of Pesek's attorney in the $1 million dollar law suit was Michael Del Galdo.  Not sure, though, if it is the same law firm.

  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20040826/ai_n12559753

....   They claim Bruno and Donahue met Pesek's attorney, Michael Del Galdo, in April "to discuss redevelopment of the property." But Donahue, they say, rejected the idea of a fast-food restaurant because it might attract blacks from Chicago....

[Ted]

  Here is a link to the law firm of Giglio & Del Galdo, which is the new legal representative of District 201. It does look like it is the same law firm that represented new school board President Jeffry Pesek in his dispute with David Donohue:

http://www.gdlawfirm.net/

And, here is a profile of the new lawyer, Michael De Bartolo, who will represent District 201:

Micheal A. DeBartolo

Micheal DeBartolo focuses his practice in the areas of school law, contract law, commercial and residential real estate and litigation. Mr. DeBartolo's work includes public sector employment and labor law, student residency and student disciplinary issues, annexation and eminent domain law as well as policy drafting and Open Meetings Act matters on behalf of school districts. In addition to his work on behalf of school districts, Mr. DeBartolo also negotiates and drafts contracts, leases and riders to agreements. Further, Mr. DeBartolo represents clients in all phases of real estate transactions, both commercially and residentially, including issues pertaining to land use, annexation, zoning and eminent domain. Mr. DeBartolo also litigates civil issues on behalf of clients and represents such clients on appeal if necessary.


Areas of Experience

1. School Law
2. Contract/Transactional Law
3. Land Use and Planning, Eminent Domain
4. Commercial Real Estate/Residential Real Estate
5. Litigation and Appellate Practice


Sample/Significant Representations

1. Negotiated and drafted personnel contracts and memorandums of understanding on behalf of public sector clients.

2. Represent school districts in employment and labor matters as well as contract claims including, but not limited to, defending school districts against lawsuits regarding employment issues, discrimination claims and contract matters.

3. Successfully arbitrate employment termination proceedings and employment grievance issues on behalf of clients filed by current and former employees.

4. Represent clients in their attempt to resolve annexation and land use issues before the proper local, county and state governing boards.

5. Successfully appealed and obtained opinion overturning six-figure verdict against a local park district.

6. Represent clients in the negotiation, drafting of contracts and completion of complex real estate sales and purchases in the commercial and residential real estate sector.


  Education

J.D., The John Marshall Law School
B.S., Ohio University

  Admitted to Practice

Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

[Ted]

And then, of course, there's this tidbit about other lawyers in the firm of Giglio and Del Galdo.  It looks like the firm of Giglio & Del Galdo has hit the trifecta - They now represent Cicero Elementary School District 99, Morton College District 527 and now Morton High School District 201:


Michael T. Del Galdo

   Professional Involvement

- Village Attorney, Village of Melrose Park, 1998-Present
- Town Attorney, The Town of Cicero, 2005 - Present
- Administrative Hearing Officer, Village of Sauk Village, 2002-2007
- General Counsel, West Central Municipal Conference, 2004-Present
- General Counsel, Cicero Public Schools District #99, 2006-Present
- General Counsel, Clyde Park District, 2006-Present
- General Counsel, Morton Community College District # 527, 2005-Present
- Attorney for Metropolitan Exposition Auditorium & Office Building Authority & Board, 2002 - Present
- Government Relations Consultant, First Response Ambulance, Inc. (New Jersey)



   James M. Vasselli

James Vasselli focuses his practice on complex commercial real estate transactions and commercial development for both municipal and private clients and employment law for public bodies. Mr. Vasselli also counsels private and public clients on developing practices and procedures in an effort to avoid litigation and serves as a municipal prosecutor and legal counsel to the Town of Cicero's Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Vasselli's work specifically includes counseling both governmental and private companies in governmental matters, including, but not limited to, zoning, tax increment financing, economic development, land use, real estate licensing, employment discipline, procedures and termination and public contracting. In addition, Mr. Vasselli acts as corporation and special counsel to Illinois municipalities and park districts.

[Berwyn Patsy]

I again am trying to be positive here, don't know what's gotten into me!
We can at least say one of the attorneys Michael A. De Bartolo has a background in School law.
Are the tax payers getting a break, since all the attorney's are connected to a lot of the school districts?
Just a question I thought of, does one have to be a resident of the community to be a member of that school board?
For instance, I live in Orland Park, would I be able to run for a school board position outside my community?   What if I moved in the middle of my term?  Just wondering.

[P-PANTHER a/k/a La Pantera]

As far as residency is concerned, it may be too late now. Maybe it's something we should have been concerned about a while ago instead of worrying about scott waugespack and/or Jerry Marzullo's backpay. Berwyn is now stuck with the current situation, in no small part due to its apathy and pettiness. You wanted non-partisan school board elections, you got it. Enjoy!

[Ted]

...  We can at least say one of the attorneys Michael A. De Bartolo has a background in School law...

  Pat,

  Just to be clear - The man who will be the attorney on a day-to-day basis for District 201 is Michael DeBartolo.  He works for the law firm of Giglio and Del Galdo.

   I posted the other item on Del Galdo and Vesseli  clients to show that Giglio and Del Galdo has many Cicero-area municipal clients.  Del Galdo is the head of the law firm.

  In other words, Del Galdo and Vesseli are not the day-to-day attorneys for District 201.   Michael De Bartolo will be the District 201 attorney on a regular basis (i.e. the guy who sits in on the school board meetings, etc.).  I am assuming that De Bartolo is also the attorney who sits in on the Morton College Board meetings and the Cicero elementary school board meetings.

  Ted

[Shelley]

As far as residency is concerned, it may be too late now. Maybe it's something we should have been concerned about a while ago instead of worrying about scott waugespack and/or Jerry Marzullo's backpay. Berwyn is now stuck with the current situation, in no small part due to its apathy and pettiness. You wanted non-partisan school board elections, you got it. Enjoy!

Panther,

Last year BerwynCARES worked hard to research the residency issue and encouraged Nowakowski and the school board to strengthen and enforce the residency policy.  As a result, district 201 checked residency on ALL students for the first time in years (compared to only checking transfer students previous years) and turned away hundreds of students.  Berwyn elementary schools already enforce their residency policies requiring 5 proofs of residency to enroll.  Indeed, I had to return with a 5th document when I registered my kindergartener this year.  The policies are not perfect and there are certainly still incidents of out of district students attending Berwyn schools, but it is inaccurate to say that we (Berwyn residents and school administrators, if that is what you meant by "we") were not concerned about this before this new law firm was hired.  I'm not sure what "current situation" you are referring to, but there are some efforts being made by all districts to enforce the residency policies.  I have been told by all three districts that if a person has a specific concern about a specific student, they should report it to the district.  If a parent knows that a classmate of their child does not live in Berwyn, please turn the name in to the office and follow up with the school board/administration. 

Shelley

[P-PANTHER a/k/a La Pantera]

Shelley<

I wasn't talking about the residency of students. Neither, do I think, was your mother.

[Berwyn Patsy]

I will clarify my question.  Just wondered if all members of  district 98, 99, 201 or 527 school board are required to be residents of those communities  which those districts serve?

[Shelley]

Oh, sorry.  Never mind.