The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2026. You can watch or listen to a replay of the September 17 meeting.
View the September 2026 Board Meeting Presentation.
Recognitions
Jefferson Early Childhood Center Earns Gold Circle of Quality: The Illinois Department of Early Childhood recognized Jefferson with the Gold Circle of Quality through ExceleRate Illinois for its Preschool for All program. Principal Michele Barkley and the early childhood team were celebrated for meeting high standards in instruction, learning environment, family partnerships, and staff qualifications.
School Board Governance Award: The District 64 Board of Education received the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) School Board Governance Award for exceptional governance, transparency, and commitment to district goals. The board will officially receive the award at the IASB North Cook Division dinner on October 7.
Public Hearing & Adoption of FY27 District Budget
Motion Passed
Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations and Chief School Business Official Brian Harlan led a public hearing before the Board officially adopted the FY27 budget, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.
Although total expenditures of $153,760,208 exceed revenues of $113,196,231 because of significant capital projects, the budget remains legally balanced, as allocated referendum funds and reserves cover the deficit.
For FY27, total operating fund revenues are projected at $100.01 million, with operating fund expenditures projected at $94.89 million. Revenue projections improved from the preliminary budget thanks to $1.5 million in unexpected revenue from Cook County, a $362,000 increase in state Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT), and $854,000 in unexpected FY24 county revenue. Operating fund transfers total $10.48 million (including $787,125 for debt bonds, $4 million for capital projects, $4.6 million in excess referendum funds, and $1.1 million from Working Cash). The District will utilize $5.4 million in cash reserves specifically to offset excess referendum construction costs.
You can watch Harlan’s budget presentation here.
Student Academic Performance Report
We are pleased to share the D64 Academic Performance Report 2025-2026, which details strong student achievement and sustained growth across District 64 from preschool through 8th grade. Moving forward, we will use this streamlined, accessible format for our annual academic updates, officially called the Academic Performance Report.
- MAP Growth & Achievement: District 64 students continue to perform strongly overall. More than 80% of students in grades 2–8 perform at or above grade level on MAP assessments, with 68% meeting their individual growth targets districtwide. Nationally, the average District 64 student scores around the 77th percentile.
- State Testing: Results on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) show high proficiency across most grade levels and schools.
- Strategic Plan Alignment and Next Steps: The Strategic Plan 2030 serves as District 64’s comprehensive roadmap for district-wide growth, student well-being, and continuous improvement. To build on these performance results, our active focus centers on key Student Learning initiatives:
- Develop and implement an Instructional Framework.
- Use data to help students who need support.
- Develop a Portrait of a Learner to define the skills every student should leave D64 with.
These strategic efforts will ensure every student masters various academic skills and acquires the durable skills needed for long-term success.
Presentation & Approval of Superintendent Goals
Motion Approved
The Board of Education approved Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins’s goals for the 2026–2027 school year, which serve as the direct action steps for Year 1 of the District's 2026–2030 Strategic Plan. To advance Student Learning, the goals aim for 70% of elementary students and 65% of middle school students to hit their MAP reading growth targets and for the district to define core academic skills through a new Portrait of a Learner and model instruction frameworks.
To improve Student Culture and Behavior, the goal is to reduce discipline issues by having 80% of the staff actively use the district's STOIC and CHAMPS behavior frameworks, while also developing a new Model Classroom standard. The Educator Excellence and Resource Allocation targets include defining a Portrait of an Educator, creating an updated long-term facilities plan, and keeping operating spending at least 1% below budget to build up the district's financial reserves.
Finally, to strengthen Community Engagement, goals focus on capturing better feedback from district events, establishing uniform communication procedures across buildings, and successfully negotiating a new five-year contract for the District’s Education Support Personnel union.
Board Committee Reports
Education Committee Report: Board Member Monica Milligan reported on the committee’s September 10 meeting. She shared that the meeting focused heavily on the academic performance and growth data Dr. Samantha Alaimo presented. She thanked Dr. Alaimo and the communications team for creating the new Academic Performance Report, praising their work in bringing greater transparency and clarity to district data for the public.
Opening Enrollment & Staffing Report
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Dr. Joel Martin, provided an update on enrollment and staffing. As of September 3, 2026, District 64’s Pre-K-8 student enrollment is 4,433, down 58 students from the start of the 2025-26 school year.
- Carpenter (+12)
- Lincoln (+2)
- Field (-1)
- Washington (-4)
- Roosevelt (-13)
- Franklin (-18)
- Emerson (-19)
Overall, the District is running one fewer classroom section this year compared to last year. The District maintains class size guidelines of:
- Kindergarten: 22 students
- Grades 1–2: 24 students
- Grades 3–4: 26 students
- Grades 5–8: 28 students
Dr. Martin reported that overall district staffing is down by 3.47 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) positions compared to last year.
- Certified Staff (+1.53 Net FTE): The District intentionally added 5.0 FTE certified positions to support expanding specialized student programs, including two Structured Learning Community (SLC) teachers, a HOPE teacher, a HOPE social worker, and a Speech-Language Pathologist. However, because several open positions created by retirements and resignations did not need to be replaced, the net gain was only 1.53 FTE.
- Non-Certified/Exempt Staff (+3.0 FTE): As planned, three non-certified roles were added: a Student Success Specialist, a Communication Specialist, and an Occupational Therapist assigned specifically to support the new SLC and HOPE programs.
- Administrative staffing saw a temporary increase of 1.0 FTE with the addition of Dr. Kevin Dwyer, who is currently supporting both the District Office and schools as the Director of Human Resources and Safety before he retires at the end of the year. Dr. Martin noted that this position will be absorbed moving forward.
- Educational Support Personnel (-9.0 FTE): ESP positions decreased by nine compared to last year. This reduction occurred as the Student Services Department has developed more efficient structures for providing student services.
Consent Agenda
- Bills, Payroll and Benefits
- Approval of Financial Update for the Period Ending July 31, 2025
- Approval of Recommended Personnel Report
- Approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Niles Township District for Special Education 807 (NTDSE) and Park Ridge Niles Community Consolidated School District 64 for the Provision of Certain Special Education Services and the Provision of Certain Staff
- Approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Niles Police Department and
- Park Ridge Niles Community Consolidated School District 64 for Reciprocal Reporting
- Approval of Semi-Annual Review of Closed Minutes
- Approval of the Destruction of Closed Audio Recordings
- 2nd Reading and Approval of Policies from PRESS Issues
- Approval of Minutes August 13, 2026 Regular Meeting, August 13, 2026 Closed Meeting and August 24, 2026 Special Meeting