Harlem UD 122 board approves consolidated plan, behavior plan and multiple curriculum and assessment contracts

The Harlem UD 122 Board of Education on April 14 approved the district consolidated plan and a district behavior plan and voted to approve a series of curriculum, assessment and software contracts and routine business items.

The board voted unanimously to approve the district consolidated plan and the Harlem District behavior plan after brief discussion and questions about the behavior plans focus groups. Dr. Schiller, a district staff member who presented the items, told the board the behavior-plan targets were selected "based off of the data," and that the plan is intended to reduce exclusionary discipline by focusing interventions on groups shown in the districts discipline data.

Why it matters: The consolidated plan is the districts vehicle for describing how federal and state grant funds will work together; the behavior plan responds to the districts recent identification among the top 20% for exclusionary disciplinary practices and includes measures intended to expand restorative practices and reduce out-of-school suspensions for identified student groups.

Key financial and administrative items

- Business officer Josh Herran reported payables of $1,800,338.32, two payrolls totaling $7,108,008.56 and a total reported expenditures figure of $8,908,346.88 (as reflected in the fund-level breakout presented to the board). The board approved the February 2025 treasurers report.

- The board approved a resolution declaring surplus property at multiple district sites including Parker Center, the administration center and several schools.

- The board approved the Harlem UD 122 fee schedule for the 2025-26 school year, including a $15 increase to the K-5 registration fee (from $110 to $125) and an updated middle-school fee that includes a T-shirt; AP and CLEP exam passthrough fees were also updated as reflected in the materials.

Contracts, curriculum and assessment approvals (selected items)

The meeting included a long slate of single-year renewals and multi-year contracts for curriculum, assessment and instructional platforms. The board approved (motion and recorded vote) the following (amounts and funding sources listed as presented to the board):

- I-Ready assessment (Curriculum Associates) 1-year renewal for grades K—6 at $48,336, paid with local funds. - MyPath (Curriculum Associates) licenses for Lost Park Elementary and Harlem Middle School: multi-year purchase totaling $67,018 paid from School Improvement (SIG) funds as presented (three-year and five-year components noted in the packet). - MySchool/assessment and instructional renewals including FastBridge ($8,253 paid with IDEA), IXL learning ($4,331 paid with IDEA), Formative (instruction and assessment platform) at $24,208 paid with local funds, Brex/Embrace IEP platform at $18,682.14 paid with IDEA funds. - Panorama Education 5-year agreement for Harlem Middle School MTSS team at $57,396.25 paid with SAFE funds. - Multiple curriculum, professional development and online coursework items from vendors including CommonLit (middle- and high-school licenses), HMH Spanish language arts ($48,008.20 paid with local funds), and several Title and grant-funded professional development and curriculum implementation packages (detailed in the board packet).

(Each of the items above was presented in board materials and approved by recorded vote; packet lines 11b5 through 11b28 contained a broad set of equity- and curriculum-related approvals the board considered together.)

Personnel and travel

- The board approved the personnel agenda and addendum as presented; the packet listed 9 employments, 12 transfers, one leave of absence for childbearing, 18 resignations and 5 federation bank requests.

- The board approved student travel for two national competitions: a bowling team to Fort Wayne, Indiana (June 6—10) and an educator/qualifiers trip (June 25—0) with flights out of Rockford, as presented.

Behavior-plan discussion note

During initial questions about the behavior plan a board member asked why the plan referenced specific student groups for reductions in out-of-school suspensions. Dr. Schiller responded, "It's based off of the data," and clarified that the groups were identified from the districts discipline data, not chosen by label.

Votes at a glance (selected motions and outcomes)

- Approve agenda: approved (recorded ayes). - Approve minutes (03/17/2025): approved. - Accept February 2025 treasurer's report: approved. - Approve district consolidated plan: approved. - Approve Harlem District behavior plan: approved. - Approve resolution declaring surplus property (Parker Center, administration center, several schools): approved. - Approve Harlem UD 122 2025-26 fee schedule (includes K-5 registration fee increase to $125): approved. - Approve personnel agenda and addendum (9 employments etc.): approved. - Approve multiple curriculum, assessment and software renewals and new agreements (I-Ready; MyPath; Panorama; Formative; FastBridge; IXL; Brex/Embrace IEP; HMH Spanish language arts; and others listed in the packet): all approved as presented.

Most motions passed on recorded voice or roll-call votes as shown in the board minutes; when the funding source for a contract was adjusted in discussion (for example, an amendment to list Title 4 funding for a specific vendor), the board amended the motion and then approved the amended motion.

Whats next

The board set an organizational meeting for Monday, May 12, 2025, at 6 p.m. to seat newly elected members and set 2025-26 meeting dates. The board also scheduled a possible special meeting to review a roof bid and indicated it would go into executive session at the end of the April 14 meeting to discuss personnel and pending litigation under the cited statutory authority.

Ending note: board members and administrators repeatedly praised recent Committee of the Whole presentations (curriculum, restorative discipline work and extracurricular performances) and highlighted continued focus on implementation of the consolidated and behavior plans.