The Examiner U-46 News FeedExpenses, policy updates slated for U-46 board vote By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 is set to vote on $116,460 in expenditure items at its upcoming Monday, March 13 meeting after being presented on March 6.
Included is $90,000, to be paid through federal bailout funds, to send “up to 52 team members,” the proposal states, to Orlando, Florida over the summer for the Instructional Empowerment Building Expertise conference.
The three-day conference, which will be June 21 to 23, is to “explore the concepts of rigor and equity in learning and education,” and they “will research and learn about strategies to enhance the continuous improvement cycle in alignment with the school instructional maturity model, with both general and specific strategies for U-46 schools and the school system, with experts and colleagues,” the proposal states.
Last year, the district spent $75,000 to send 45 people to the conference. The conference is through Learning Sciences International (LSI) which the district spent a whopping $18.5 million in 2021 to conduct admitted theoretical work through the 2025-2026 school year.
The board will also vote on a contract renewal with Thought Exchange costing $26,460 (education fund) as part of the district’s “equity” work.
The proposal states: “The communication platform, Thought Exchange, allows Exchange Leaders to create open-ended questions and allow for online interactions among all participants…. Thought Exchanges are a psychologically safe method of engagement that can identify root causes related to equity and inclusion, allowing our team to take decisive and data-informed actions. Finally, Thought Exchange, similar to Gallup and Panorama, can be used as a leading indicator to identify starts, stops, and continuation of all things that help to create a school district of belongingness and inclusivity.”
Additionally, the board will vote on updates to 29 policies.
Trisha Olson, chief legal officer, said the “vast majority… have very minor or technical changes.” The proposed policy updates were not provided to the public.
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