Grundy Reporter

Illinois State Board of Education Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole met May 14.

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. Roll Call Chair

Dr. Christine Benson brought the meeting to order at 2 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present with seven members attending in person. Dr. Chris Benson, Dr. Patricia Nugent, Roger Eddy, Laura Gonzalez, Dr. Steven Isoye, Dr. Sherly Chavarria, and Dr. Donna Leak were physically present. Dr. James Anderson and Dr. Anna Grassellino were absent. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders was also in attendance.

Members Present

Chair Dr. Chris Benson

Dr. Sherly Chavarria

Roger Eddy

Laura Gonzalez

Dr. Steven Isoye

Dr. Donna Leak

Dr. Patricia Nugent

Members Absent

Dr. James Anderson

Dr. Anna Grassellino

Staff Present

Dr. Tony Sanders, State Superintendent

Jo Ireland, Board Services Coordinator

Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent

Kristin Kennedy, Chief Legal Officer

Dr. Kimako Patterson, Chief of Staff

Krish Mohip, Chief Education Officer – Operations

Tassi Maton, Chief Internal Audit Officer

Irma Snopek, Chief Policy & Communications Officer

Jason Helfer, Ph.D., Chief Education Officer – Instruction

Jennifer Saba, Executive Director of Improvement and Innovation

Emily Fox, Director of Educator Effectiveness

David Turovetz, Director of Charter Schools

Derreck Langwith, Director of ROE/ISC

Carisa Hurley Davis, Director of Early Childhood Development

Joanne Clyde, Director of Multilingual/Language Development

Melissa Oller, Chief Operating Officer

Marci Johnson, Director of CTE

2. Public Participation

Adam Seaney, vocational director at Galesburg Area Vocational Center, spoke on Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding. He thanked the Board for its support of CTE, and he explained that the center offers a wide range of CTE opportunities for students, providing useful skills and instilling a sense of purpose. He added that there were 352 students enrolled this past year, and this number is expected to jump by a hundred students in the coming year. Mr. Seaney stated that demand for CTE programming has exceeded available resources, which is why it is important to allocate more funding to CTE.

3. Approval of Minutes: April 16, 2024

Dr. Leak moved that the Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole hereby approves the April 16, 2024, meeting minutes. Dr. Nugent seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote.

4. Superintendent’s Consent Agenda – May 15, 2024

Dr. Benson noted that these items had each been discussed at a previous meeting. There were no questions regarding the items for the following day’s approval.

5. Discussion & Approval

A. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of the Remaining American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (ARP EANS) Federal Stimulus Funding for EANS Final Reallocation Grant

Director of ROE/ISC Derreck Langwith discussed this item. There were no questions.

B. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of Upward Amendment for the Early Childhood Regional Community Systems Development Project

Director of Early Childhood Development Carisa Hurley Davis discussed this item.

Dr. Benson asked if the structure of this grant would change at all when several agencies are combined into one agency focusing on early childhood. Ms. Hurley Davis said that it is possible that this grant would move over to the new agency after the second year. Dr. Benson asked if this grant would appear in the ISBE budget. Ms. Hurley Davis said that it would for fiscal year 2025, but that it currently appears in the Illinois Department of Human Services budget.

6. Upcoming June Board Action

A. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of Upward Amendment for the Illinois Resource Center Professional Development and Technical Assistance Sole Source FY 2025 – FY 2026

Director of Multilingual/Language Development Joanne Clyde discussed this item.

Dr. Nugent said that she had recently attended the Summit for Bilingual Parents, which was a great event, and she was wondering how additional participation from outside the Chicagoland area might be incorporated going forward. She said that every bilingual parent throughout the state should have the opportunity to benefit from these resources. Ms. Clyde agreed that it is more difficult for parents from other parts of the state to get to Chicago. She said her department has several ideas, such as moving the summit farther south or holding multiple meetings. Dr. Nugent thanked Ms. Clyde for this information. Dr. Benson added that it was an outstanding event.

Dr. Leak asked if the higher cost budgeted for staffing would be used for hiring more full-time or part-time staff. Ms. Clyde explained that the additional funding for staffing would be used to cover increased costs of current staff, such as rising benefit costs and salary increases, rather than for hiring new staff.

7. Internal Audit Updates

Chief Internal Audit Officer Tassi Maton discussed these items. She said that the FY 2023 Statewide Single Audit will continue to progress, likely for another week or two. She said that the entrance conference for the FY 2024 Financial Audit and FY 2023-24 Compliance Examination was held on April 22 with the Office of the Auditor General and an external auditing firm, Sikich. Both audits are moving forward as planned. There were no further questions.

8. New Business: Items for the Next Agenda

There was no new business.

9. Next Meeting: June 11, 2024

10. Adjourn

Dr. Chavarria moved to adjourn. Dr. Leak seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote. Chair Benson adjourned the committee at 2:17 p.m.

https://www.isbe.net/Documents_Board_Meetings/051424-FA-Minutes.pdf