Aurora East USD 131 committee logs donations, previews new financial visuals and recommends prioritizing Cowherd kitchen
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
At a finance and personnel committee meeting, members recorded donations to schools and student programs, reviewed enhanced financial visuals for November–December and discussed kitchen-equipment quotes that exceeded budget; staff recommended prioritizing Cowherd’s production kitchen (approx. $95,000) with formal action scheduled for the 16th.
The finance and personnel committee of Aurora East USD 131 reviewed a month’s worth of donations, previewed expanded financial visuals and discussed next steps for kitchen-equipment procurement.
Michael Engel reported multiple donations to district schools and programs, including “15 food supply bags and 5 pairs of Nike sneakers from the Calvary Church for students at Oak Park Elementary,” Thanksgiving dinners for Oak Park Elementary from the Illinois Math and Science Academy and Keystone Lodge No. 15, and monetary gifts to East High School athletics and student clubs. Engel listed specific gifts including $3,300 from Diamond Youth Foundation for the boys’ basketball team and $500 from the Knights of Columbus to support programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Engel also presented new, more visual financial reports for November and December that include cash summary, cash flow, and year‑over‑year revenue and expense comparisons. He said the reports were designed to give a clearer, more in‑depth picture of the district’s financial trends and invited the committee to suggest tweaks.
On procurement, Engel told the committee the returned quotes for kitchen equipment at Cowherd, East High and Waldo were substantially higher than the roughly $100,000 the district had budgeted. He estimated the total of quotes at about $440,000 and recommended prioritizing Cowherd — described as the district’s production kitchen that serves elementary schools — and moving forward with approximately $95,000 for Cowherd’s equipment. Engel said procurement would not be acted on that night and is scheduled for action on the 16th; he noted equipment has about a 12‑week lead time, which would allow installation in time for the next school year if ordered promptly.
Committee members asked about the solicitation process and who was contacted. Engel said the district issued a request for proposals/request for quotes, directly contacted major manufacturers and received variable response rates (two quotes for Cowherd and East High, and five for Waldo). He named outreach to firms such as TriMark Hobart and GatorChef and agreed to provide a summary showing which companies were solicited and which responded.
Next steps noted by the committee included returning the equipment procurement item for formal action on the scheduled date and re‑soliciting for Waldo and East High in April so installations could occur over the summer and align with next year’s budget.
The committee adjourned at 05:40.