The Examiner U-46 News Feed

IGA pact, varied expenses approved by U-46 board

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, with a 7-0 vote, of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Village of Bartlett as well as $6.5 million in expenditure items at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 7.
  The IGA pertains to the districts plan to convert Hawk Hollow, off of Jacaranda Drive, from an elementary to a middle school. The plan is to open the middle school by the 2025-2026 school year, and it is expected to increase enrollment from just under 300 students currently to up to 750.
  Traffic concerns were raised by the village which are addressed in the IGA, which is in effect for 10 years. U-46 “will collaborate with the Village” on traffic studies, the IGA states, and “will contribute costs to an intersection improvement project proportional to the School District’s overall use as documented in the Traffic Study or any Additional Study.”
  On expenditures, the largest item is a $3.4 million (education fund) amendment to a service agreement split between Right at School ($1.9 million) and the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin ($1.5 million) for before and after school programs for students at 12 elementary schools.
  A bid for 8,500 Chromebooks was approved with a price tag of $2.9 million (operations and maintenance fund) from Vivacity Technologies.
  A contract with American Association of School Administrators was approved costing $76,000 (education fund). It is for participation in the National Principal Supervisor’s Academy which “is in-person and convenes for two days, three times per year (6 total days) in Mesa, Arizona. Seven Executive Directors and the Assistant Superintendent of Schools will attend these sessions,” the proposal states.
  Costing $70,000 (education fund), the board approved a contract with Dr. Michelle Thompson of MQDI4Kids, LLC “to provide continuity of curriculum and instruction work as the Language and Libraries goes through a leadership transition,” the proposal states.
  A $55,220 (education fund) contract with Baragar Systems was approved to provide software for “enrollment projections and prepare boundary proposals,” the proposal states. “The suite also includes tools to assist with teacher staffing, as well as determine capital and functional space needs across all locations.”
  The board also unanimously approved $15.9 million in itemized bills.