The Oak Park ESD 97 Board of Education handled consent items and several fiscal and calendar matters at its meeting. After identifying a needed correction to the personnel report (an adjustment to vacation-day pay), Speaker 4 moved and Speaker 10 seconded a revised consent agenda to include the personnel update; the revised consent agenda proceeded to action.

Speaker 3 moved that the board approve the 2026 summer programming as presented with a not-to-exceed amount of $685,000; the motion was seconded and recorded affirmative. The board also discussed and approved (motion and second recorded) an August 2026 school-calendar option that aligns the district to the high-school calendar with one out-of-alignment institute day noted.

On finance, Speaker 8 presented the tentative tax-levy preview and recommended a 3.3% levy request, tying the recommendation to CPI and estimated new growth. The presentation noted that roughly 80% of district revenue comes from property taxes and that about $10 million in taxable new growth would yield an estimated additional $400,000 per $1 million of assessed new growth. Trustees flagged the district’s reserve level as lower than peers and discussed options to raise the policy target from the current 4–6 months toward a higher floor, noting that doing so would likely require budget adjustments.

Trustees also discussed late receipts of Cook County tax distributions and the district’s use of tax anticipation warrants to cover cash flow shortages; the levy timing and potential working-cash levy were raised as tools for managing short-term liquidity.

Committee and operational updates followed, including a preliminary Facilities & Planning (FAP) estimated priority capital need of about $29 million for 2027–2030 (not including optional electrification/elevator/AC/LED upgrades). The meeting adjourned by voice vote.