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Lake Forest School District board meeting, Aug 13, 2026

1 h 06 min · 0 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 22:22

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 06 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Lake Forest board approves policy updates and certificate of necessity application 54:54

  • A district staff member presented the fiscal year 2026 year-end financial reports and a preliminary budget that showed an $818,000 deficit. 4:40
  • The board also approved a set of revised policies 5 to 0 and approved the certificate of necessity application 5 to 0. 54:54
  • The board approved the June monthly financial report, the financial position report and the fiscal year '27 preliminary local budget report 5 to 0. 1:03:55

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening, agenda and minutes 0:00
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a roll call of board members. 0:00
    • A motion was made to approve the minutes from the June 25th 2026 and the July 7th, 2026 board meetings. 1:17
    • No one signed up for public comment, according to the chair. 1:26
    • The agenda and the minutes were each approved 5 to 0. 1:02
  2. Staff report on new school year 3:21
    • A staff member thanked custodial and maintenance staff for preparing buildings for students and staff returning next week. 3:21
    • The staff member encouraged board liaisons to visit schools during the school year. 4:10
  3. Year-end financial and preliminary budget reports 4:39
    • A district staff member said the district hit 102% of its discretionary funds and was $316,000 over budget in other local revenue. 4:40
    • The staff member presented an $818,000 deficit in the preliminary budget and said the projected reserve would be $7.4 million at the end of the year. 22:22
    • Asked how miscoding would be prevented, the staff member said the plan was to audit some local expense areas at the end of the year. 31:41
  4. Superintendent's report 37:26
    • The superintendent congratulated administrators who completed their first year in new positions or roles. 37:26
    • The superintendent said new teachers come in Monday, August 17th, and all students report for the first day of school Wednesday, September 2nd. 39:46
    • Sarah Starkey thanked the nutrition team. 40:44
  5. Certificate of necessity discussion 40:44
    • The superintendent recommended that the district again apply for a certificate of necessity for a cafeteria project at Chipman Middle School, with a total cost of about $2.2 million. 41:12
    • A staff member said the state share is now 79% and the local share 21%, and the cost per square foot rose to $588. 42:47
    • The staff member said there should be more transparency in the state's selection process. 45:46
  6. Board policy revisions 49:06
    • Sarah Starkey asked whether funds are ever collected at after-school or off-campus events where taking them to a secure place is not practical. 51:49
    • One board member asked to add language to the travel policy covering cases where no return flight is available after business concludes. 53:48
    • The policies were approved 5 to 0. 54:54
  7. Personnel report 56:10
    • A motion was made to approve the personnel report as presented. 56:10
    • The personnel report was approved 5 to 0. 56:29
  8. Early childhood instructional coach position 56:37
    • The superintendent said the instructional coach position at the Early Childhood Center is required under early childhood regulations and will be funded internally. 56:59
    • The position was approved 5 to 0. 58:09
  9. Memorandums of understanding 59:14
    • The superintendent said the first memorandum corrects a rate in the printed contract to match what was agreed to during negotiations. 59:36
    • The first memorandum was approved 5 to 0, and the chair announced the second motion carried. 1:00:07
  10. School of choice, application and financial reports 1:02:53
    • The board took up the School of Choice, the certificate of necessity application and the financial reports. 1:02:53
    • Each motion was approved 5 to 0. 1:03:05
  11. Board reports and adjournment 1:04:12
    • The next scheduled board meeting is Thursday, September 10th, with a 6 o'clock start time. 1:05:01
    • The meeting adjourned at 7:08. 1:06:03

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

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Video: posted by the district as “August 13, 2026 Lake Forest Board of Education Meeting”