District 207 board reviews policy updates, finances and approves contracts, software migration and new administrative roles

Maine Township High School District 207’s Board of Education moved from recognitions to governance business, approving policy and procurement items, reviewing financial results and adopting staffing changes.

Policy committee chair reported on a Dec. 15 committee meeting that reviewed proposed Press policy revisions (including anti‑discrimination language, a target school violence prevention program, equal employment opportunity and minority recruitment clarifications, single‑gender curricular language, proficiency credit for foreign language and updated intra‑district transfer language). The committee recommended waiving first reading for policy 7.15 (agency and law enforcement requests) and advancing it for board approval at the Jan. 5, 2026 meeting.

Finance staff presented the November financial report and budget assumptions. The administration said revenues remain behind targets but December property tax receipts provided relief; expenditures are in line with budget and the district intends to run a modest deficit (about $1,000,000 or less) to fund capital projects estimated at roughly $20,000,000 this year. Finance staff noted a $3,000,000 transfer into debt service cleared a temporary negative balance, and that tracking of large property assessment refunds (those greater than $5,000) is ongoing.

The board approved several procurement items and contracts. Highlights included a recommended five‑year agreement with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital to support team doctors and residency rotations (negotiated fee reductions), award of the Maine East roofing contract to Hunt Marshall with a base bid of $1,482,000, and award of the Maine West roofing contract to Anthony Roofing (bid recorded in the packet at approximately $1,000,009.47). The board also voted to reject and reissue the masonry repair solicitation for Maine South due to a misprint in the bidding documents.

On information technology, the board approved a Skyward migration to a cloud‑hosted platform with a one‑time migration cost of $41,734 and an estimated $53,000 per‑year extension for three years; the administration set a go‑live target of December 2026 and said cloud hosting will centralize updates and reduce local patching workload. The board also approved Aruba wireless network diagnostic support and software updates; administration noted technology contracts above $25,000 require board approval and that some technology procurements involve proprietary software and statutory procurement exceptions.

The board accepted the district audit — the comprehensive annual financial report and the annual financial report filed with the Illinois State Board of Education — after auditors reported no material deficiencies. "There were no material deficiencies that existed that the auditors found," administration summarized on the record.

Other approvals included the tuition‑rate calculation for 2025–26 (the administration said the calculated rate rose roughly 10% year over year, driven by higher expenditures and a slight drop in average daily attendance; the district reported it currently has no tuition‑paying students) and a slate of new or redefined administrative positions (student services coordinator, student activities coordinator, a 12‑month associate principal for student support in one building, instructional supervisors, and a director of education performance and development) to be phased in over the next 3–5 years tied to retirements and workload needs.

Before adjourning into a closed session to discuss student personnel, litigation and collective bargaining items, the board directed staff to continue community outreach for the strategic plan (a survey mailed Jan. 8 with a Jan. 23 deadline) and to finalize display plans for the Main Flyer donation.

Votes on approvals were taken by roll call and recorded as carried on the record.