Lake County Gazette

The Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education held its regular meeting on September 18, discussing several key issues for the upcoming school year.

During the meeting, Emerson Middle School seventh grader Zainab Hakeen and teacher Emmy Pasier were recognized as “Shining Stars” for September, highlighting their embodiment of the district’s motto: "Together we discover, learn, grow, and care."

A representative from Studer Education joined via call to discuss how their organization assists districts with strategic planning and continuous improvement. The administration recommended entering into a partnership with Studer. Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins stated, "We’re very, very excited about the potential and the work that we can do. I think it’ll be a really great conversation for us, as a school board, as a community, and all of our staff." Dr. Collins added that advice from other districts emphasized finding an external partner to maintain accountability in strategic planning efforts: "So that it’s not something that you veer from, or start to add more to, and then it actually pulls you away from the things that you actually think are the most important drivers of student success."

Updates from board committees included information on finance and facilities by Kurt Kuempel and education matters by Beth Rankin.

The Board approved the district budget for 2025-26 following a presentation by Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations Brian Harlan. The district expects approximately $142.49 million in revenue against $175.29 million in expenditures. Harlan explained this planned shortfall is due to issuing remaining referendum bonds: "When you look at the total fund balance, you see that we are projecting a lower ending balance, but this is 100% planned for this year because we will be issuing the rest of those referendum bonds." Operating funds projections are set at nearly $97.9 million with projected expenditures of $92.2 million.

Dr. Samantha Alaimo presented an update on student achievement goals for 2025-26. These include early reading and math proficiency targets for kindergarten and first grade students (80% reaching above the 40th percentile), average MAP achievement based on pre-pandemic data trends, expected growth rates at or above the 50th percentile on MAP assessments, 50% of middle school students meeting growth targets in reading, and 60% of students in grades two through eight meeting reading growth targets. Dr. Alaimo noted significant progress: "One thing I want to celebrate is that 88% to 95% of our students at District 64 are at the 40th percentile and above. That is just phenomenal. I’m so proud of our teachers and our kids for showing that type of success and progress. I anticipate that it’s only going to move up as we really start targeting some instruction through our strategic planning."

An enrollment report indicated there were 4,491 Pre-K-8 students as of August 31—98 fewer than last year—resulting in six fewer classroom sections across schools. This decline was anticipated based on ongoing monitoring.

Despite reduced sections overall full-time equivalent (FTE) staff only declined slightly compared to last year due to additions such as school psychologists, special education support roles at Lincoln Middle School, new technology staff positions required by department expansion needs (such as hardware installations), increased educational support personnel (ESPs), one new Board Certified Behavior Analyst funded by grants, reassignment within ESPs roles for efficiency gains with special education support duties where needed; two new special education coordinators were also hired so each building now has dedicated leadership rather than sharing between locations.

Michael Browning led a tour showcasing recent construction upgrades at Emerson Middle School stemming from referendum projects.

The consent agenda passed several motions including approval of bills/payroll/benefits updates through July 31; recommended personnel changes; second readings/approval on policy updates; intergovernmental agreement with Niles Township District for Special Education services; purchase approvals for whiteboards at Emerson/Lincoln middle schools; contract approval with Studer Education; review/destruction approvals regarding closed session records; expense reimbursement recommendations; and minutes from prior meetings.