Board members at the Arlington Heights School District 25 meeting on Aug. 19 heard a presentation from Meg Schnor, superintendent of NSSEO, about a planned change to NSSEO’s governance structure that would add a two‑tier system: an elected governing board and a separate operational board made up of member‑district superintendents. The district’s board indicated preliminary support and agreed to return a recommendation at a future meeting. "This is about building confidence in how NSSEO serves students and stewards the significant financial contributions from member districts," Schnor said in the recorded presentation.

The draft amendment would require a change to the NSSEO articles of agreement and a review and ratification process by each member district. Schnor told the board the operational board would have authority to make operational decisions — for example, on e‑learning policy, program design, staffing models and transportation services — while the elected governing board would continue to set the annual budget and hire and evaluate the NSSEO superintendent. Schnor said the change aims to make decision‑making more transparent and to reduce back‑channel problem solving.

Board member Liz (last name not specified in transcript) described having reviewed the draft with district staff and encouraged the board to return approval or feedback so the item can be considered at the NSSEO meeting on Sept. 3. District 25 board members — including Dr. Kaye, who serves as the district superintendent — voiced support for moving the draft forward to the required review period. Dr. Kaye said her team supports the proposed direction and that the change should help NSSEO better serve students across member districts.

The board recorded no formal vote on NSSEO articles during the Aug. 19 meeting; members agreed to take an official position after each member district completes its review. Board members asked that the draft be returned to District 25 for the required review period and that staff bring any questions back to a future meeting.

The discussion included caution about implementing a new open‑meetings process for superintendent representatives and acknowledgement that, if approved, the change could take effect in January or later depending on each district’s schedule. The NSSEO presentation emphasized that the governing board would retain budget authority and superintendent oversight, while the operational board would meet publicly under the Illinois Open Meetings Act and make daily operational decisions affecting programs and budgets.