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Cook County School District 130 board meeting, Oct 20, 2026

1 h 43 min · 7 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 43 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

District 130 board hears public comment on school custodial services 4:04

  • Speakers at public comment described cleaning conditions in schools after the district replaced its custodians with a contracted company and asked the board to bring the custodians back. 4:58
  • The board approved a resolution declaring a Board of Education seat vacant, which said the member sent an email on July 21st, 2026 resigning and had not attended any meeting since. 59:22
  • The board approved a motion for an additional special education bilingual professional for fiscal year 2026⁠-⁠2027. 1:08:54
  • During a board discussion of the custodial contractor, a speaker said there were 26 full-time employees currently, and another speaker gave 36 when asked how many the company said it would provide. 1:17:35
Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and principals recognition 0:31
    • The meeting opened with a roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:31
    • A speaker said October is National Principals Month and thanked principals and assistant principals. 0:43
  2. Public comment on custodial services 0:43
    • The board limited individual comments to 3 minutes, with no more than 30 minutes for public comment. 2:58
    • Speakers at public comment described unswept floors, unclean bathrooms and staff and administrators cleaning buildings, and said the contracted company was not fully staffed or trained. 4:04
    • Several speakers asked the board to end the contract and bring back the district custodians. 9:00
  3. Board member comments 51:35
    • A board member said they had visited schools, that morale was low, and that the board could open the custodial issue as a discussion item. 51:35
    • Another board member said they had been part of the decision, called it a failure and said they did not have confidence in the company. 54:20
  4. Consent agenda 54:00
    • A motion was made to approve consent agenda items 4A through K, and members answered yes in a roll call. 56:57
    • A speaker described about $170,000 in federal funds administered through the state and a partnership with the regional superintendent's office. 56:57
  5. Board seat vacancy resolution 59:22
    • The resolution said the board member had not attended meetings since July 21st, 2026, and that under Sections 10⁠-⁠10 and 10⁠-⁠11 of the Illinois School Code the board must declare the seat vacant. 1:00:11
    • A speaker said they were worried the member's lack of response was not a formal resignation. 1:00:51
    • A speaker read the July 21st email and a later text message in which the member wrote that the email was not a resignation. 1:01:26
    • The motion was approved. ~1:04:50
  6. Parking lot intergovernmental agreement 1:04:56
    • A motion was made on an intergovernmental agreement related to the parking lot at the new school, and a speaker asked about the sidewalk. 1:04:56
    • A speaker said the pitch and roof drainage made a sidewalk impossible because of ice, so speed bumps were planned at the gate. 1:07:05
  7. Special education bilingual position 1:08:54
    • A speaker said the position was very necessary and that special educators wanted more professionals. 1:09:09
    • The motion was approved. ~1:09:50
  8. School proposals for 2026-2027 1:09:57
    • The board voted on proposals from several schools for the remainder of the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year, with members answering yes. 1:09:57
    • A separate motion was made on the Powerdale Primary School proposal. 1:11:52
    • The Powerdale Primary School proposal was approved. 1:12:23
  9. Discussion of custodial contractor 1:12:32
    • A speaker said there were 26 full-time employees currently, and another speaker said the count was still down 10 from 36. 1:17:35
    • A speaker said those doing the hiring reported a hard time finding day shift employees and were filling afternoon shifts, because some employees work other jobs during the day. 1:18:53
  10. Superintendent search update 1:21:06
    • A speaker said the survey was still available and the search firm would wrap up focus groups by the end of the month, with more to report in November. 1:21:06
    • Speakers discussed low turnout at a forum, and a speaker said notice went out the Friday before and was not bilingual. 1:22:20
  11. Statement on custodial transition 1:24:09
    • A board member said the district had bargained with SEIU since July of 2025 in 22 sessions without reaching agreement. 1:25:36
    • The board member said inspectors conducted visual inspections of district schools on Monday, September 21st, 2026, and that follow-up matters were being addressed. 1:26:32
  12. Committee update 1:24:09
    • A speaker reported on a student placement and access committee meeting covering enrollment, program placement, promotion criteria and registration, with the next meeting February 26th. 1:30:11
  13. Employee group communication 1:31:23
    • A speaker said staff had lived with dirty buildings for months and asked when the board would fix the situation. 1:31:29
    • The speaker cited legal services spending of $83,000 for one month, $97,000 in August, $82,000 in July, $36,000 in June and $50,000 in May. 1:36:02
  14. Closed session and adjournment 1:37:27
    • The board moved to closed session on personnel, collective negotiation, safety and litigation matters. 1:37:27
    • Nicole Martinez said the board was back at 11:15. 1:41:07
    • A speaker said there was no action after closed session. 1:42:09

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Cook County School District 130 Board of Education Meeting 10.20.2026”