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Board of Education Retreat Summary

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The Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education met on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at the District #7 Center for Learning for their Board Retreat.   

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. 

Strategic Plan Dashboard 
The District #7 Data Dashboard serves as a comprehensive tool to showcase outcomes and progress related to the 2022-27 Strategic Plan. Developed with input from the Strategic Plan Steering Committee, key data points and metrics were identified for each of the five strategic goals. The dashboard prioritizes ease of navigation and includes narrative explanations to provide context and enhance understanding. Below is a summary of each goal and the data metrics included: 

Goal 1: Student Success 

  • ELA Fastbridge 

  • CTE Participants 

  • Student Attendance 

  • Graduation Rate 

Goal 2: Thriving Workforce 

  • Retention of Certified Employees 

  • Employee Satisfaction 

Goal 3: Safe & Supportive School Climate 

  • Student Belonging 

  • School Climate 

Goal 4: Family & Community Engagement 

  • Social Media 

  • District #7 Website 

Goal 5: Efficient and Effective Operations 

  • Fund Balance 

Facilities and Bond Update 
A financial update was provided, detailing current projects across the district, including pre-design estimates, post-design cost estimates, bid awards, completion dates, final costs, and funding sources. This comprehensive review included all ongoing projects, not just those associated with the April 2023 bond referendum. The update also featured a specific bond project overview, along with a bond revenue update covering earned interest, projected additional interest, and the potential for an arbitrage penalty. The arbitrage penalty, calculated for tax-exempt bonds, ensures that earned interest does not exceed the average interest costs of issued bonds, except during allowable exemption periods. Competitive interest rates have allowed District #7 to earn more in interest than permissible. The district has used $89,330,000 of the voter-approved $100 million bond. If the district were to borrow the remaining $10,670,000 by February 28, 2025, the district could maintain its facility funding plan and issue the remaining bonds while keeping the debt service tax levy rate steady at $0.77 - assuming a 9% EAV growth for FY24.  

The Board held a discussion on potential Phase 2 projects as it relates to the Bond Referendum, highlighting key considerations, including the possibility of adding a media center. The Board also discussed the complexity of long-term leasing, EHS South, and asked that Dr. Shelton collect more information on recommended facility changes before providing more input.  

Transportation Study and School Start Times 
District #7 spans approximately 185 square miles and serves 7,300 students across 13 schools. Travel times within the district can range from 25 to 35 minutes between its northern and southern ends. Each school bus costs approximately $75,000, and drivers work schedules exceeding six hours daily. 

The district currently assigns routes and stops for all eligible students, accounting for 6,480 students and 3,207 stops. However, monthly ridership surveys indicate that an average of 25% of bus stops included in routes are unused by students. Ridership varies across elementary, middle, and high school levels. 

In recent years, transportation expenditures have consistently exceeded revenue, a trend expected to persist. This is largely due to rising transportation costs and prorated state reimbursements, which have been reduced further each year. To help address this, the district initiated a Transportation Study in fall 2022. The study aims to improve efficiency, achieve cost savings, and ensure safety while maximizing instructional time for students. 

The transportation study also provided an opportunity to evaluate school start times, a topic supported by research highlighting the benefits of later start times for high school students. Studies show that later start times can improve sleep, attendance, mood, academic performance, and reduce tardiness and teen car crashes. 

However, changing school start times involves several considerations, including, but not limited to before- and after-school programming, teacher workdays, childcare, traffic, athletic schedules, and parent work schedules. 

To guide the evaluation, the district sought community input through discussion groups, the Steering Committee, and both student and community surveys. Over 2,000 individuals participated in the community survey with results and data from that survey being shared.  

The district is exploring a two-tier routing system with these key parameters: 

  • Bus capacity would be limited to 80%. 

  • The maximum route ride time would be set to 60 minutes. 

  • Students would be assigned to the same bus for morning and afternoon routes. 

  • Students would be required to register to be assigned a bus, with a 7–10 day processing window for changes or new registrations. 

  • Temporary solutions would be in place for new families or last-minute changes. 

Several options showing school start times with the two-tier routing system were shared with the Board. The district will continue to evaluate efficiency of transportation by finetuning routes, stops, and times and conduct additional surveys as needed.  

Next Meeting:  
Monday, January 27: Board of Education Monthly Meeting (7 p.m. at Liberty Middle School) 

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