Board of Education
Page Navigation
-
The District 115 Board of Education is a member of the Illinois Association of School Boards, which is a member of the Consortium of State School Board Associations.
-
Overview
Unless otherwise noted on the board calendar, regular meetings are held in the Board Room at Lake Forest High School West Campus, 300 S. Waukegan Rd. (2nd floor) beginning at 7:00 p.m. An Executive Session and Workshop may be held prior to the conducting of regular business. The agenda and any changes to meeting dates or location are posted on this page, and on the bulletin board in the foyer of the Administration Center prior to each meeting. Agenda items include matters related to education, finance, and operations.
All regular meetings of the Board of Education for District 115 are open to the public and the Board welcomes public attendance and participation at these meetings.
To access the Board Room, the public is asked to please use the athletic entrance located under the blue awning and proceed to the Board Room on the second floor. Directional signage will be posted.
For questions or to access archived minutes, please contact Tiana Adams, Board Clerk.
Time is provided on the agenda of each meeting for the public to address the board. Speakers are asked to limit their remarks to a maximum of three minutes. Questions and suggestions will be referred to the superintendent for further study and consideration. Questions of fact about school programs or budget are best answered by contacting a building principal, an administrator, or the superintendent.
Board of Education members make decisions about school policy, budget, and curriculum. The District 115 Board is the official governing body of Lake Forest High School. Seven residents are elected from the community at large to serve on each board, and do not represent specific school neighborhoods. Newly elected board members will serve four-year terms without pay. School board elections are held on the first Tuesday of April in odd-numbered years.
Conduct at regular board meetings is determined by an agenda, which is published on the District website and posted in the vestibule of the Administration Building located at the LFHS West Campus (300 S. Waukegan Rd.) prior to each meeting. The structure of the Board's agendas and meetings follows the format recommended by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB). Additional materials discussed by the Board are available to the public at the Board meeting and following the Board meeting on the District website. Meeting dates are published on the District website.
- Educational topics are discussed monthly. Agenda items are devoted to discussion and/oraction on educational initiatives, incidental matters related to personnel, and other governance related issues.
- Budget and financial issues are addressed monthly. Discussion and/or action on matters related to District finances and/or operations, such as review of financial statements, approval of bills, budget development, life safety implementation, transportation and other matters related to district operations, is conducted at monthly board meetings.
- Public hearings are required before the adoption of the annual budget. Adoption of the budget is an agenda item at a regular meeting.
- Executive sessions, which are not open to the public, may be held when the Board of Education wishes to discuss collective bargaining, pending court proceedings, the employment of staff, or other confidential matters. Executive sessions are for discussion only; the board reconvenes to public session to take action.
-
Public Participation
The Lake Forest Boards of Education welcome public attendance and participation at all meetings. It is hoped that by utilizing these guidelines, participation will be maximized, both in terms of fairness and organization.
After being recognized by the Board President:
- Interested speakers should come to the microphone and state their name before addressing the Board. In circumstances where the meeting is held remotely, speakers are asked to wait to be recognized when calling into the meeting, and then state their name before addressing the Board.
- Each person will be limited to a maximum of 3 minutes to speak.
- Everyone has a right, within reason, to be heard respectfully. Members of the public will not be allowed to speak a second time until all members of the audience who wish to speak have been allowed to do so.
- Public comment should not be redundant and all comments should be directed to the Board and not the audience.
- To provide accurate responses, detailed questions posed to the Board during public comment will be listened to and taken under advisement. The public is always welcome to meet with school officials to receive information, discuss ideas or express concerns.
- If the public has any letters or other written materials, they may be handed to the Board Clerk for the public record, or in the case of a remote meeting, emailed to the Board Clerk.
(Ref. Board Policy 2:230)
-
Independent Investigation Report
The District 115 Board of Education voted in July to retain a nationally-renowned investigator of sexual misconduct as part of its response to a report lodged by a Lake Forest High School (LFHS) alum that a former staff member had an inappropriate relationship with him several decades ago while he was a LFHS student.
The investigator’s report notes that the District has already taken a number of steps to enhance our responsiveness to reports of inappropriate behavior. It also outlines additional actions we can take to further demonstrate our commitment to the safety and well-being of students, including enhancing District policies, training and parent and student communications pertaining to reports of sexual misconduct. We are working to put these recommendations into practice, and we are committed to doing whatever we can to continue to maintain a zero tolerance culture for any kind of misconduct in our community.
The Board authorized posting the investigator’s executive summary of her findings as well as a redacted version of the report to ensure parents, students and the full school community can assess the findings. The redactions are made, in part, to comply with state and federal law that prohibits disclosure of certain “personal identifiers,” including student information and personnel records.
As we continue to work through these findings and recommendations, we again encourage anyone with concerns about misconduct, past or present, to use the LFHS Confidential Reporting Tool to inform school officials about perceived threats to the safety and security of our school community. Above all else, ensuring the safety and well-being of students remains our highest priority. -
State Legislative Priorities
