Wilmette School District 39 board meeting, Jun 15, 2026
2 h 44 min · 6 public speakers
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Wilmette District 39 board approves consent agenda including 2026-2031 strategic plan 2:37:11
- Several speakers at public comment asked the district to reconsider iPad and screen use in classrooms, including removing iPads from kindergarten and first grade. 15:34
- District staff presented an end-of-year report on the current strategic plan, followed by a draft of the new strategic plan. 45:33
- The board approved a consent agenda that included the 2026-2031 strategic plan, fiscal year 2027 tentative budgets and an administrator salary increase with an aggregate merit raise of 3.9%. 2:32:15
Item by item (14)
- Call to order and roll call 0:01
- The meeting was called to order on Monday, June 15th, 2026, and the clerk called the roll. 0:01
- Recognitions and introductions 0:22
- Graduating New Trier High School seniors who attended District 39 schools were introduced and led the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:22
- A Wilmette Junior High School principal recognized two track and field athletes who represented the school at the state competition. 5:15
- A district staff member introduced the chosen candidate for the assistant principal position at Ramona Elementary School, and the candidate said growing up in Wilmette and graduating from District 39 made the role meaningful. 7:39
- Approval of minutes 10:36
- Public comment on classroom technology 10:55
- Speakers at public comment raised concerns about screen time and research on screen exposure and brain development, and asked the district to consider removing iPads from kindergarten and first grade classrooms. 11:47
- A speaker said there were 200 approved apps as of May 18th and asked what visibility the district has over what children can access, including Safari. 21:59
- Another speaker raised concerns about student use of AI and about controls that keep students from reaching unapproved apps or websites. 23:48
- Board committee and liaison reports 28:40
- Kristin de Castro reported that the board was informed of two summer projects funded by parent groups: new auditorium stage lighting at Central and new playground equipment at Harper. 29:10
- Erin Stone reported recommendations from an intergovernmental working group on civility, including civility training for board members and encouraging school districts to take the Cook County Against Hate pledge. 33:33
- Judy Berlin reported that Senate Bill 2914 passed the Illinois Senate in April and the House of Representatives in May and awaits the governor's signature. 37:33
- Communications and administrative announcements 38:29
- A district administrator said the board received written communication on topics including kindergarten eligibility, screen usage in school and the strategic plan. 38:38
- The administrator said a Wilmette-wide reunification training was held that day with the Wilmette Police Department and other community partners. 42:16
- End-of-year strategic plan report 45:29
- A staff member said the district met its early literacy and early numeracy goals. 52:27
- A staff member said fiscal year '25 ended with a 51.99% fund balance for the operating funds, above the 40% target. 1:17:48
- Amy Poehling asked whether it was typical for social-emotional measures not to increase from fall, and a staff member said the district would move to the Sabers screener and discontinue the Insights and MESH assessments. 1:19:54
- Presentation of new strategic plan 1:26:02
- The facilitator of the planning process said over 450 people took part in focus groups and over 550 people took part in the feedback survey. 1:26:13
- A staff member said the mission, vision and core values remain the same, while the language of the five goal areas was refined. 1:45:30
- Allyson Paflas asked how short-cycle targets would be set and how often. 1:58:58
- State bullying report 2:14:10
- Budget and annual business items 2:19:41
- A district administrator said an aggregate merit raise of 3.9% was recommended for administrative salaries, indexed to the Consumer Price Index with a floor of 2.5% and a ceiling of 4%. 2:23:43
- The business office staff member said the July accounts payable resolution is needed because the board does not meet in July. 2:24:37
- Second public comment period 2:26:47
- Consent agenda 2:30:36
- Allyson Paflas moved to approve the personnel report, donation agreements with the Central Elementary School PTA and the Harper Elementary School PTA, fiscal year 2027 tentative budgets with a public hearing on Monday, August 24th, 2026, and renewal of a treasurer bond in the amount of $5,500,000. 2:32:15
- Erin Stone noted the strategic plan item was read as 2025-2026 instead of 2026-2031, and a staff member clarified the action was to approve the 2026 through 2031 strategic plan as amended. 2:36:15
- The consent agenda was approved on a roll call vote. 2:37:58
- Good and welfare 2:38:16
- Adjournment to executive session 2:43:07
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 “Wilmette Public Schools District 39 Board of Education Meeting June 15, 2026”