Board of Education Monthly Meeting Summary: May 2025

The Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education met on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in the Liberty Middle School Auditorium for its monthly session.  

These are not the official meeting minutes and do not include every detail from the meeting, but rather a summary to assist the District #7 community. The official minutes can be found on the District #7 Board of Education Board Docs once approved by the Board. 

Superintendent's Report 

• During the May work session, the Board discussed the purchase of a warehouse. However, since that discussion, the warehouse has been sold to another buyer. The District and the Board will continue to explore other options. 

• Applications are open through the end of the week (May 30) for the Parent-Teacher Advisory, Equity Advisory Council, and District #7 Steering Committee. All these committees are important in guiding key district policies, practices, and initiatives. Applications can be found here.  

• Registration for the 2025-26 school year is ongoing. Families who register by July 18 will be guaranteed course schedules and bus routes before the first day of school on August 20. Parents and caregivers can register by visiting ecusd7.org or going into the PowerSchool Parent Portal and clicking Registration from the navigation menu on the left-hand side.   

• Graduation will take place this Sunday at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of SIUE. Following graduation, the District will assess the cost of holding the event at SIUE compared to EHS. 

• Summer Learning Safari and Extended School Year begin on Friday, June 6, and summer school for EHS begins on Monday, June 9. 

• Beginning the week of June 16, all offices that are normally open during the summer will operate Monday–Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Regular hours will resume later in the summer. 

Goal 5 of the Strategic Plan 
CFO/COO David Courtney provided an update on Goal 5 of the District’s Strategic Plan: Efficient and Effective Operations.  

Key accomplishments thus far include:  

• The district earned Financial Recognition status in both 2023 (June 30, 2022) and 2024 (June 30, 2023). 

• The efficient use of facilities has been enhanced through changes in the placement of specialized programs and the expansion of Pre-K/Preschool Academy into Hamel and Glen Carbon Elementary schools. 

• In the area of technology, plans have been developed to maintain and improve Wi-Fi infrastructure, a device replacement cycle has been implemented, and construction of a district-wide fiber network is underway, with completion expected by June 2026. 

This past year, a comprehensive review of all fee structures was completed, including instructional material fees, which are currently set at $100 for high school, $90 for middle school, and $80 for elementary school.  

A recommended change is being considered to shift from an instructional material fee to an instructional technology fee (based on replacement device cost) beginning in FY27. Athletic and extracurricular fees were reviewed and will remain at $75 for middle school (with a maximum of two activities) and $125 for high school (also capped at two activities). 

Fees for outside programming such as CAVC, LCCC, and SIUE were also examined. Looking ahead to next year, all costs associated with the LCCC cohort will be the responsibility of students, while the District will continue to support the CAVC and SIUE partnerships. 

Rental fees, which generate approximately $100,000 annually in revenue, were also reviewed this year for consistency. The District plans to implement updated facility rental fees for the next school year. 

A key takeaway from the review is the need for more regular analysis of rental fee structures to remain competitive with regional rates. 

In action, the board approved:  

• A resolution to extend the District’s participation and membership in the Mississippi Valley Employee Benefits Intergovernmental Cooperative and the Mississippi Valley Property Casualty Intergovernmental Cooperative through June 30, 2028.  

• The bid from AngelTrax for the replacement of school bus security cameras and system in the amount of $193,712.56. The project is scheduled for completion by August 8, 2025. The District allocated $300,000 in the current year’s Transportation Fund for this project. 

• The display of the proposed amended budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The original budget for the 2024-2025 school year was adopted by the Board of Education on September 23, 2024. The reasons for amending the 2024-2025 budget are as follows: 

• To reflect changes in revenue and grant allocations from the Illinois State Board of Education, to reflect changes in revenue and grant allocations from Federal sources, and 

• To adjust expenditure budgets for changes in grant allocations, increased/decreased costs, and minor changes in dollar allocations between various budget accounts. 

Amending the budget is an annual process. 

Next Meeting:  
Monday, June 23: Board of Education Monthly Meeting (7 p.m. at Liberty Middle School)