Votes at a glance: what the East Chicago board approved Jan. 13, 2026
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Summary
The board approved the meeting agenda, payroll and claim dockets, several grants and personnel items, appointed one building‑corporation member, authorized litigation against social media companies, and made committee and library board appointments.
The School City of East Chicago Board of Trustees took the following formal actions on Jan. 13, 2026.
• Agenda: Motion to approve the meeting agenda passed after roll call (motion by Trustee Rodriguez; second by Trustee Gibson King).
• Consent and finance items: – 5.01 Payroll distribution: Approved by roll call after clarifying garnishment and tax withholdings. – 5.02 Claim docket: Approved by roll call after trustee questions about invoices to ESS substitute service, mentoring groups and other vendors; trustees requested invoice detail where needed. – 5.04 Donations: Approved by roll call.
• Grants and agreements: – 6.01 AASA Helping Kids mini‑grants: Approved. – 6.02 Innovation grant: Approved. – 6.03 MOU for credit course offering (Top 20): Approved.
• Professional development and personnel: – 6.04 Professional development requests: Approved. – 6.05 Personnel report: Approved; trustees asked for detail on a hard‑to‑fill rate increase and mentor stipend (staff stated mentor stipend is $500 per year, prorated).
• Building corporation (6.06): Approved the resolution to reconstitute the building corporation with one accepting nominee (Robert Garcia); vote recorded 3 yes, 2 no. Two other nominees had withdrawn that day; staff will return with additional appointments.
• Litigation authorization (6.07): Approved Resolution 2026‑01 authorizing the district to join class‑action litigation against social media companies; vote recorded 4 yes, 1 no.
• Committee and board appointments: – 6.08 Legislation committee: Trustee Joel Rodriguez appointed (no vote required). – 6.09 Library board trustee: Cynthia Warner Lowe appointed by board vote.
• Adjournment: The board adjourned and scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 27, 2026.
For full vote details, attendees asked staff to supply supporting invoices and personnel rate specifics on request; the board directed staff to return with additional materials where items were contested or required clarification.