Board of Education Work Session Summary: May 12

The Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education met on Monday, May 12, 2025, in the Liberty Middle School Auditorium for its monthly work 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 Diligent site once approved by the Board. 

Diligent Community 
District #7 is now using Diligent Community, which was acquired by BoardDocs in 2016. Diligent offers a modern, mobile-friendly interface with improved navigation and a more user-friendly experience. Stakeholders can now subscribe to notifications when new meetings are posted, and all past Board meetings are accessible through the platform. The District #7 website has been updated to direct the community to the new site, which can be accessed here: https://ecusd7.community.highbond.com/Portal/. 

Board Committees 
The Board discussed the idea of combining four of the committees into two – Finance and Facilities and Personnel and Curriculum.  

Board Involvement in District 7 
Last year, Board members each adopted at least two buildings, and the intent is to continue that practice this year. 

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton will also share information with the Board regarding the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee, Equity Advisory Council, and Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Two Board members will be assigned to serve on these committees. 

District #7 is also seeking individuals interested in serving on one of the three advisory committees for the 2025-26 school year. 

More information on the three committees, along with application forms can be found here.  

Summer Construction 
This summer will be a busy one across District #7, with construction projects taking place at several schools. Projects include: 

• Secure double entries will be installed at Columbus, EHS, Glen Carbon, Hamel, Leclaire, Nelson, and Woodland to enhance building security. 

• As part of the double-entry project, there will also be an office relocation at Nelson Elementary: Rooms 210 and 211 will be converted into the new main office, which will include the principal’s office, a conference room, a nurse’s suite, and a teacher lounge. The current office space will be repurposed into two classrooms, a server room, a teacher workroom, and additional office space. 

• Roof replacements resulting from the March 2024 hailstorm will take place at Glen Carbon, Woodland, Columbus, Hamel, and Nelson. 

• Solar panel installations will be completed at Liberty, Glen Carbon, and EHS. 

• Asphalt resealing will occur at the Jon Davis Wrestling Center, the EHS Sports Complex, Columbus, Leclaire, and Liberty. The circle drive at Liberty will be fully replaced. 

• Lincoln Middle School: The 60,000-square-foot addition is nearing completion. This summer, asbestos abatement will be conducted in the original 1925 portion of the building. Additional work includes regarding the upper parking lot, constructing 13 temporary classrooms in Lucco Gymnasium, and replacing the track and asphalt underlayment. 

• Woodland Elementary: Improvements include reconstruction of the parent pick-up/drop-off area, partial replacement of the front parking lot, and reconstruction of the drive lane access from IL-157. 

• EHS: The Commons addition and renovation will be completed this summer. Additional projects include the completion of the main gym floor, light renovation of the former Edwardsville Art Center, and replacement of the Winston Brown Track. Softball turf installation is scheduled for this fall. 

Families will receive building-specific communication regarding work taking place at their child’s school. The District will also send a summary outlining all construction projects. 

Warehouse Information 
Dr. Shelton presented two options to the Board regarding the potential warehouse purchase. 

The first option involves purchasing the warehouse with the intent of vacating the current office space at Mark Twain and converting the existing EHS South space into offices. This option would require resolving logistics related to the Mark Twain lease, which runs through September 2026. 

The second option is to modify EHS South to serve as a warehouse. This would require extending the Mark Twain lease by at least one year. 

Facilities 
This spring, Director of Facilities and Grounds Josh Ferry and Dr. Shelton conducted walkthroughs of each building to evaluate facility needs over the next three years. 

They began identifying short-term priorities for summers 2026 and 2027, including items such as boilers, tuckpointing, security cameras, playgrounds, window caulking, and seal maintenance—projects focused on keeping buildings operational and well-maintained. 

A short-term project list is currently in development. Once the full facility assessment is completed, it will be combined with this initial work to create a comprehensive long-term facilities plan. 

The goal is to determine how the identified projects for summers 2026 and 2027 can be incorporated into the district’s budget. 

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