Proviso Township HSD 209 reviews internships, vendor renewals, CTE changes and vehicle purchases; credit-recovery vendor change recommended

Proviso Township High School District 209 staff briefed the board on a range of operational and instructional items, including labor negotiations, internships, curriculum renewals, career programs and vehicle procurement.

Labor agreement: Administration reported that negotiations with the district's SEIU bargaining team concluded Feb. 11, 2026; an agreement has been reached and is awaiting ratification. The administration thanked SEIU representatives and district staff involved in the bargaining process.

Internship program: Staff described the district's fifth-year IT internship program that brings eight students from all three campuses to assist with imaging and preparing about 1,400 student laptops and supporting summer-school technology needs. Staff said many former interns stay in contact and cited examples of alumni pursuing IT careers; a claimed 70% placement rate into IT careers was mentioned as a program outcome by staff.

Curriculum and vendor renewals: Alex, a staff presenter, previewed a one-year renewal for a districtwide literacy-support product described in the transcript as 'Musella' at a listed cost of $74,861. Staff said they would solicit more student feedback and plan to bring formal action to the board in April. Separately, Panorama (the district's MTSS/MTSS-support platform) was described as fully grant-funded under a continuing Project Aware grant for the next two years.

Credit recovery: A district task force recommended switching the credit-recovery platform from 'egenuity' to a different product referenced in the transcript as 'subject.' Task force members and teachers reported that the recommended product scored highest in the task force's categories, offers more robust student supports, and is more engaging. Staff said the vendor's initial quoted price was $170,000 and that negotiations are underway; the task force will seek formal board action in April.

CTE — cosmetology program: Presenters described changes to the district's cosmetology partnership (partner referenced as 'Beauty Academy' and presenter 'Miss Roberts'), including phased kit purchases to avoid a single upfront charge, a smaller cohort (about 15 students) to better ensure students reach the state-required seat time for certification (the transcript references a 1,500-hour minimum and 750 hours per year pacing), and additional selection steps (interviews, shadow days) to increase certification completion rates.

Driver education vehicle purchase: Staff said the current driver-ed fleet is over 10 years old and repair costs are rising. After two solicitations, Gerald Kia of North Aurora was identified as the lowest responsible bidder at $157,771 for six vehicles (described in the record as one sedan and one small SUV per school), with deliveries phased across April–June and the purchase already budgeted.

Next steps and timelines: Several items were informational previews; formal actions were scheduled or expected at future meetings (Musella renewal in April, credit-recovery action requested in April). Panorama renewal was reported as fully grant-funded and therefore not an immediate general-fund expense.

Direct quotes from the meeting included staff describing the credit-recovery vendor selection as scoring "highest on every category" and staff thanking the SEIU team for negotiating "in good faith." The board asked staff to gather more student feedback about the literacy tool ahead of the April action item.

What to watch: formal action on vendor renewals (credit recovery and Musella) at the April meeting and the SEIU ratification date (not yet specified).