The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Variety of expense items approved by District U-46

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, via 7-0 votes, various financial items at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 7.
  Included was an electrical service supply contract. The item does not have a determined cost yet, but it allows the district to sign a contract to lock in rates.
  “The district is issuing an Invitation to Bid to electricity service suppliers as the current electrical contract ends in February 2023,” the proposal states. The process will include vetting the suppliers on qualifications and price. Pricing changes daily in the energy markets and rates are not guaranteed or held pending approval. Rates can vary significantly between bid opening and Board approval as we recently experienced with the district’s natural gas bid last year.”
  The proposal noted that rates are expected to nearly double from it’s 2019 contract of $0.04698/kWh with current pricing between $0.08092-$0.08382/kWh.
  The board also approved $1.7 million in expenditure items including a three-year contract costing $1.1 million (education fund) for the Infinite Campus system which allows “parents, students, teachers, and administrators access to student grades, transcripts, and other student information,” the proposal states.
  A three-year contract with Northern Illinois University costing $552,000 (federally funded grant) for teacher endorsements was approved as was $75,000 (education fund) with Collaborative Leadership Consulting Group to consult on union bargaining with the teacher’s union with “support for creating structures, systems, culture and communication practices to reach a successful collective bargaining agreement prior to the start of the 2023-2024 school year,” the proposal states.
  Two resolutions were approved to modify terms of general obligation refunding school bonds which board member Dawn Martin described as “just the moving of the debt so that we pay it off sooner and we save our taxpayers more money,” which district officials said was correct. The district said it should lead to about $2.1 million in savings.
  Also approved were $8.9 million in itemized bills.