Lake County Gazette

Zion-Benton Township High School District 126 Board of Education met Oct. 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Education of Zion-Benton Township High School District 126, Lake County, Illinois, met in Special Session in the College and Career Center at Zion-Benton Twp. High School District 126, 3901 21st Street, Zion, Illinois, commencing at 5:03 p.m.

President Nordstrom presided.

ROLL CALL

Members present: President Nordstrom, Vice President Nieto, Secretary Roberts (Zoom), Member Leech (Zoom), Member Stephen (Zoom – arrived at 5:55), and Member White (Zoom).

Members excused: Member Richards

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

COMMUNICATIONS FROM STAFF, GUESTS, AND DISTRICT RESIDENTS

Citizen Kathy Champine asked the Board if when posting agendas for meetings, they could link attachments to the documents pertaining to the items on the agenda. President Nordstrom responded that administration is currently reviewing options and systems for this.

Citizen Katrina White expressed concern over the continued rise in COVID cases in the county, state, and country. She encouraged the Board to continue with remote learning with very limited in-person activity for the health and safety of students, families, and staff.

An anonymous public comment was sent in from a special education teacher at ZBTHS. This staff member requested that the Board give teachers at least a two-week notice before bringing students back to campus so they have time to prepare and adjust lesson plans.

APPROVAL OF DISTRICT 126 GRADUAL REOPENING PLAN

Dr. Rodriguez, along with administration, presented the Board with its recommended plan for District 126’s second quarter. Administration is proposing an Updated Interactive Remote Learning Plan for the second quarter of the 2020-21 school year. Highlights of this proposal include:

• The District’s primary concern is the health and safety of students, families, and staff.

• The incidence and positivity rates in Kenosha County and Lake County continue to rise.

• The Updated Interactive Remote Learning Plan will be the safest and most sustainable plan for the second quarter.

• The Updated Interactive Remote Learning Plan will include specialized in-person programs for students in need of academic support, high need bilingual students, high need project recover students, high need special education students, and Tech Campus students.

• This updated plan will also add five minutes of live virtual instruction to each period daily. Transitions between classes will be shorted to 10 minutes and office hours start times will change by five minutes.

• The District will continue to provide transportation to and from school every day. The bus schedules will be adjusted to reflect the remote model class schedule, clubs, activities, and athletic schedules.

• Safety and wellness will continue to be a top priority with mandatory temperature checks, social distancing, and face covering for everyone entering the building.

• The District buildings will be closed on Fridays in order to conduct deep cleaning.

• Activities and athletics will continue to operate within the IHSA and IDPH guidelines. Districtwide, 53 clubs and activities are currently providing opportunities for students including blood drives, community service projects, weekly group meetings, competitions, and leadership experiences.

President Nordstrom gave the Board members an opportunity for questions or comments about the proposed plan. Highlights include:

• Member Leech asked about how the in-person support during live virtual instruction would operate. Dr. DiGangi explained that the campuses currently have spaces designed to promote social distancing to provide supervision. As principals identify which students are in need of in-person support there will be additional staff members there to support their specific needs.

• Member Leech expressed concern over the freshman class and the need for them to have in-person instruction. Dr. Rodriguez stated that if there is an opportunity to increase in-person instruction, administration plans to expand that as much as possible while still promoting social distancing.

• Member Leech asked how the District will get Tech Campus students to the Tech Campus. Jake Carlson responded that transportation for individual students is in place.

• Secretary Roberts asked how the District will respond to students or staff members who travel outside of the state. Jake Carlson responded that at this point, administration is not entertaining a travel ban.

A motion was made by Member White, seconded by Vice President Nieto to authorize administration to move forward with the Updated Interactive Remote Learning Plan for quarter two as presented. Motion was approved by a roll call vote of members present voting 6-0.

APPROVAL OF THE ZION NUCLEAR POWER STATION PROPOSED STIPULATED 2020 ASSESSED VALUE OF $4,739,380

Dr. Wilkinson reported that the Exelon Corporation has appealed to the Lake County Board of Review for the Zion Nuclear Power Station to have their assessed value reduced from $5,985,559 down to $893,244. However, the Zion Township Assessors legal counsel has negotiated with the Zion Nuclear Power Station and brought a proposal forward to reduce that assessed evaluation from $5,985,559 down to $1,246,179 which would bring the new assessed value to $4,739,380.

Superintendent Rodriguez voiced opposition to the assessed value reduction as it may have negative implications for taxpayers and asked the Board for direction relative to future work between District 126 and other taxing bodies. The Board showed alignment with the Superintendent and together District 126 will continue to advocate on behalf of taxpayers.

A motion was made by Vice President Nieto, seconded by Member White to approve the Zion Nuclear Station proposed stipulated 2020 assessed value of $4,739,380 and unauthorize the Chief School Business Official to execute the necessary documents to finalize the stipulation. Member White expressed frustration that this is the second time Exelon has reduced the value of the property and concern that they will continue to do so until the property isn’t worth anything. Dr. Wilkinson agreed with Member White but stated that the alternative of this is for the District challenge it but if unsuccessful the District would need to refund around $207,000 in property taxes. Motion was approved by a roll call vote of members present voting 6-0.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned by President Nordstrom at 6:38 p.m.

https://www.zbths.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=1159&dataid=6819&FileName=MNOct1520S.pdf