Round Lake CUSD 116 reviews FY25–26 budget assumptions, summer programming and curriculum plans; board discusses transportation software upgrade

The Round Lake Area School District Board of Education on Feb. 24 reviewed the district’s FY25–26 budget assumptions, summer programming plans and a preview of planned curriculum adoptions, and discussed a proposed upgrade to the district’s transportation software.

Business officials told the board that FY25–26 budget assumptions have been revised in three places since the last presentation, including lower-than-expected insurance costs and the addition of a business APFTE and an upcoming curriculum-adoption expense. The finance report said the reduced insurance costs free up district funds that could be applied elsewhere if needed.

Administrators presented an expanded summer program portfolio the district plans to fund through its after‑school grant. The program list includes early-learning bags at the EEC, a kindergarten countdown in partnership with United Way, art and STEM buses operating from a single Round Lake Beach park location, newcomer programming and extended-school-year services at all levels, credit recovery and honors-bridge offerings for middle-school students entering high-school honors coursework. New additions this year are a summer iReady monitoring program (staff will monitor student progress remotely and communicate with families) and a two-week Future Skills Academy for high-school students (mock interviews, resume writing and college/career readiness); the district also plans to hire a behind-the-wheel scheduling monitor to expand driving instruction hours. Administrators said all summer expansions are funded through the after‑school grant.

On curriculum, the board heard a preview of planned adoptions for 2025–26 including K–8 math (i-Ready), grades 9–11 math (vendor: VAST Learning/partner unnamed in minutes), sixth–eighth grade social studies (Curriculum Institute) and Spanish language arts (Vista Higher Learning). Finance committee members said the administration will present a cost table next month showing which purchases are annual versus multi-year and where grant funds might offset costs.

Finance committee members also briefed the board on a proposal to upgrade the district’s transportation software from VersaTran to Traverse (used by neighboring Fox Lake). The upgrade would add tablets on buses and a parent-facing app that provides bus arrival notifications. Board members raised implementation questions about installing tablets on a leased fleet and how devices would be transferred as buses cycle out; administrators said vendor installation would be used for the initial deployment and they would work through long-term transfer and support plans with the vendor.

Other items discussed during the meeting included strategic-plan updates on curriculum implementation, professional development and special-education placement-matrix reviews; community partnerships with Mano a Mano Family Resource Center; and routine finance items such as registration fees (administration recommended no increase). Several items were slated to return to the board for formal approval, including curriculum adoptions and specific contract terms for the transportation software.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of meeting agenda as posted — approved by roll call (motion by Miss Larson, second by Miss Lee). - Approval of open meeting minutes for 02/03/2025 — approved by roll call. - Approval of special meeting minutes for 02/10/2025 (Stakeholder Advisory Group) — approved by roll call. - Approval of consent agenda (accounts payable $1,133,362.59; previous payments $160,014.60; January treasury and p-card reports; employment report) — approved by roll call. - Approval of rental agreements with Big Tent Events and TC Furlong for middle-school promotion ceremonies — approved by roll call. - Approval of rental agreements with Big Tent Events and TC Furlong for the high-school graduation ceremony — approved by roll call. - Approval of Board travel reimbursements for the 2025 NSBA Advocacy and Equity Institute ($1,431.56) — approved by roll call. - Release of previously unreleased closed-session minutes (Jan–Jun 2023) — approved by roll call. - Destruction of closed-session audio recordings from June 2023 and prior — approved by roll call. - (Separate article covers EPIC contract awarding a social worker to John T. McGee Middle School.)

Board members asked detailed implementation questions about curriculum pacing and SEL supports; administrators said they are conducting building-level follow-ups and a principals’ meeting on March 6 to determine next steps. The board also asked administration to return with a vendor cost table for curriculum adoptions and additional answers from the transportation vendor on tablet installation and reassignment plans.

The board meeting included recognitions (student and trainee/employee of the month) and multiple routine personnel and minutes approvals. Several action items were taken during open session; additional personnel and legal matters were handled in closed session and resulted in separate actions after the board returned to open session.