On October 13th, 2015 I attended the regular board meeting of Illinois School District 58.

Each item on the agenda had both a local impact that reflected values of the larger community.
Their opening items included call to order and roll call, including the acknowledgement
of the two newest board members. The new members had been members of the school
community in different forms throughout the years and had gone through government regulated
training. As a public school district the school board is government regulated with defined
powers. The flag salute was conducted by the elementary schools student council. The
engagement of these students fostered future leaders for the community.
The Non-Action Reports included updates on the districts technology infrastructure and
funding for the Hillcrest playground renovations. The presentation on the districts technology
infrastructure included locally beneficial efforts to prevent delays in the schools internet by
association with both AT&T and Comcast internet providers. While the system was efficient
there was still a projection on future installments to enhance their connection and provide
students with internet connection on their chrome books without the necessity of Wi-Fi outside
of school. One of the board members questioned the plans necessity. This was chalked up to the
priority of technological advancement of todays society. A special needs boy, Noah, and his
mother updated the board on their fundraising efforts for a playground that would accommodated
disabled and special needs children. Over the previous weekend they had raise over $300,000
and plans for construction were set for March of 2016. Not only would this accommodate Noah
but it was an inspiring moment of generosity and hope to support all students learning.
The hottest topic of the night was the tentative 2015 property tax levies. After nearly a
half hour presentation by the financial advisory committee it seemed completely acceptable for
the school to be in millions of dollars worth of debt and the board approved to file for levies.

District 58 sits in a prosperous community with no sign of struggle. When the discussion was
opened up to the board and public present at the meeting no one spoke against the advisory. Why
is this acceptable in a larger community context? The concern was the lack of response may have
been due to a lack of understanding of the jargon of the topic. The hope was the approval was
due to the moral value of educational resources in the community outweighing the dollar value
of their debt. Local decisions were based off communal values.