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Flossmoor SD 161 board approves Heather Hill change order, technology purchases and expulsion abeyance
Summary
At a special meeting called to order at 6:13 p.m., the Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education approved a Heather Hill change order, classroom and individual Chromebook purchases, and an expulsion-abeyance agreement. All items were approved by roll call.
Flossmoor School District 161's Board of Education approved a set of construction and technology purchases and a student discipline agreement during a special meeting called to order at 6:13 p.m. The board voted to: (1) approve Heather Hill change order No. 1 for $152,797; (2) approve classroom technology upgrades (amount not specified in the motion text); (3) purchase 5,000+ student Chromebooks from CDW‑G for $310,950; (4) purchase teacher Chromebooks from CDW for $41,745; and (5) approve an expulsion-abeyance agreement for student case 2025 D-5. Each motion was moved and seconded and carried on roll-call votes.
The Heather Hill change order arose after project work began and district staff and the architect discovered replacement doors that had not been included in the construction documents. District staff and the architect characterized the omission as an oversight discovered during construction; the board approved the additional work and funding to proceed. The Chromebook purchases were presented with staff explanation that vendor pricing had been increasing and that locking the purchase now was financially preferable to waiting, though vendor quotes had changed in the hours before the meeting.
Why it matters: the Heather Hill change order affects the district's summer 2025 construction schedule (phase 1 of the district's multi-year plan) and will increase costs for that project. The Chromebook purchases are intended to support classroom instruction and 1:1 device availability; staff told the board that current prices were still lower than last year's but could rise further. The expulsion-abeyance agreement is a formal student-discipline action recorded by the board.
What the board approved (summary): - Heather Hill Change Order No. 1 — $152,797 — Approved by roll call; described as necessary to replace existing, deteriorated doors omitted from original bid documents. Staff said the omission was missed during multiple page-turns of the design documents. - Classroom technology upgrades — Approved by roll call (motion described as "classroom technology upgrades as presented"). - Student Chromebooks (CDW‑G) — $310,950 — Approved by roll call. Staff explained vendor quote volatility and that the district attempted to lock pricing earlier but vendor prices had increased between quote and order. - Teacher Chromebooks (CDW) — $41,745 — Approved by roll call. - Expulsion-abeyance agreement (Student 2025 D‑5) — Approved by roll call; motion recorded as moved and seconded. - Consent agenda (personnel report, previous meeting minutes, calendar items) — Approved by roll call.
Board discussion and oversight: board members asked for clarifications on how the door omission occurred on the Heather Hill project and sought reassurance that similar oversights would be caught during upcoming projects. Facilities staff and the architect acknowledged human error in missing the door schedule item during a complex set of documents and said the district had increased walkthroughs of the remaining buildings to identify comparable issues earlier in the process.
The motions recorded in the minutes indicate roll-call approval for each action; no opposing votes were recorded in the meeting transcript excerpts available.
Ending: The board completed action items before moving on to ongoing discussions about district goals, standards-based grading and winter assessment data during the same meeting.
