On July 14, 2025, the Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve a community engagement project services agreement after a public commenter urged the district to narrow the work and reduce expenses. Mike Tennis, a Sleepy Hollow resident, spoke during the public participation period and raised questions about the proposed spending and the project’s connection to a possible bond referendum.

Tennis urged caution and a narrower scope. “The committee engagement project proposes spending $89,500 for professional services and another $100,000 for expenses,” he told the board, adding that the expenses listed included “$67,500 for direct mailings, $23,600 for text messaging and over $10,000 for advertising and travel.” He also said the work could be used to support a bond referendum “perhaps as much as $250,000,000.”

Tennis identified district debt and turnout concerns as context for his recommendation. He said district debt was “over $222,000,000,” noted that D300’s long-term debt dated to a $185,000,000 referendum in March 2006, and compared local turnout to other jurisdictions: “Among 54,000 D300 voters in Kane County, less than 20% voted this spring,” he said. Tennis recommended narrowing the statement of work to “only include community engagement and informational communications,” which he said could save $31,000 in professional fees and additional expense reductions.

Board members approved the agenda and consent items earlier in the meeting. The roll call for the services agreement recorded seven aye votes: McKinde, Melia, Birkett, LaMarca, Linmark, Fiorentino, and Anne Zettler; the motions and seconds for the approvals were not identified on the record. The board’s approval was recorded as a single formal action: the motion to approve the community engagement project services agreement carried 7-0.

The public commenter referenced outside examples and costs to argue for a tightened scope. He cited a Dundee Township Park District voter survey that he said cost $28,800 and questioned whether extensive opinion research was needed given prior district sessions and surveys. He also asked whether enrollment projections and the forthcoming Illinois report card would provide sufficient context to seek voter support for a potential referendum.

No board member statements expanding on Tennis’s concerns or announcing changes to the approved agreement were recorded in the public portion of the meeting. After the vote, the board moved into closed session for personnel, litigation, ethics/practices and school safety discussions under the closed-session exemptions cited on the record.

The board’s approval of the services agreement is a formal action on the consent agenda; the transcript does not specify contract start dates, the vendor, or which department will manage implementation. Those implementation details and any change in scope or cost beyond what the public commenter cited were not specified on the public record.

The meeting proceeded to a closed session at the end of the public portion; no additional public discussion of the community engagement project appears in the transcript provided.