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Board reviews 14.75 FTE request including truancy/outreach positions and athletics staffing
Summary
District leaders sought approval to add 14.75 FTE (total cost $1.28 million; about $262,075 expected from grants). The slate includes three student-success/family-engagement (truancy/outreach) positions, a Huntley restorative dean and an assistant athletic director; trustees pressed for metrics, supervision, and long-term funding clarity and gave consensus to return the full slate for action.
District officials presented a prioritized 14.75 FTE request for 2026'27 that would add staff across district-wide, elementary and secondary programs at an estimated total cost of $1,281,106.48. Staff said $262,075.21 is anticipated from grant sources and the remainder would come from local funds and offsets from retirements.
Truancy and outreach: Staff proposed three student-success/family-engagement positions to replace county ROE services that had assisted multiple districts with attendance outreach. Student services leaders said localized, consistent outreach (regular home visits and integration with school SST/MTSS teams) provides continuity the county could not always sustain and can better connect families to services. Trustees pressed for evidence the positions would change chronic absenteeism rates; staff responded that the model provides more clock hours and deeper school-team integration than intermittent ROE visits and that one position would be dedicated to ELDC family outreach if approved.
Huntley dean: Huntley administrators requested a restorative dean to reduce the school's administrator-to-student ratio (Huntley ~213:1 vs district average ~126:1) and to provide timely restorative interventions and classroom support; administrators argued the extra dean would reduce suspensions and improve teacher retention.
Athletics and activities: The athletics director presented data showing substantial growth in sports and activities over decades and argued for a district-level assistant athletic director to manage scheduling, events (265 days with numerous concurrent events), Title IX compliance and to boost engagement that correlates with higher attendance and GPA among participating students.
Budget and process: Finance staff noted projection methods use conservative benefits assumptions and that retirements open budget capacity to partially fund new hires. Trustees asked to prioritize positions and asked that the full slate return for a formal vote; staff said the board can pull specific items at the time of vote. The board gave consensus to bring the full slate back for formal action after additional follow-up information is provided.
Next steps: Staff will return with details requested by trustees, including prioritized justification for positions, staffing supervision structure for the truancy/outreach roles, and clearer multi-year budget impacts.
