Students, safety and technology a highlight in State of the District 428 address

DeKALB – The leadership at DeKalb School District 428 touted recent progress and laid out a vision for furthering its commitment to the district’s mission to provide education that supports the needs of the whole student during a recent State of the District address.

From facility and safety operations and technology to student services, a variety of new developments impacting teaching and learning in the DeKalb schools have surfaced over the past year.

During its bimonthly meeting last week, members of the District 428 school board sat in on a year-end presentation highlighting where the district stands with making progress.

Cindy Carpenter, director of business and finance DeKalb schools, said the district has stayed on track with its budget projections over the past year.

“Our district’s operating fund balance has increased from $22.5 million, which is more than 28% of our expenditures in fiscal [year] 2016,” Carpenter said. “We’re at just below $50 million, so about 53% of our expenditures for fiscal year 2021. So, we’re exceeding our fund balance policy, which is 20% to 30%.”

Carpenter said she believes the district’s close attention to finances will pay off in the long run.

“You can see that we’ve really tried very hard over these last few years to bolster that fund balance so we can do some things in the future with building needs and staying on track there,” she said.

Facility needs

The district has more than $12 million in capital improvements underway or on schedule for completion before the end of the calendar year, officials said.

Tammy Carson, district director of facility and safety operations, said the plan is to update the district’s initiatives outlined in the master facility plan for the 2022-23 academic year after current projects are completed.

Safety operations

With the district’s safety audit completed, the district is in the middle of reviewing recommendations for planning and potential implementation. School officials have been looking to hire a security manager in response to the findings from the report.

“Those plans will continue in regards to prioritizing and implementing of the audit recommendations in an effort to continue to improve our district’s safety,” Carson said.

Findings from the recent safety audit recommended that DeKalb School District 428 update its facilities’ existing door mechanisms, mandate more vigilance for recess monitors and update cameras.

Carson said she hopes the district will soon have an update on the security manager position. The new role will count among its responsibilities oversight of the district’s school safety plans, implementing best practices and problem-solving for safety-related issues.

Student services

Kyle Gerdes, district director of student services and homeless liaison, said there’s a lot to celebrate in the student services department.

The district plans to increase the number of school-based mental health staff for the 2022-23 school year, officials said.

Gerdes said he believes it will help strengthen available resources in District 428 schools.

School officials also have updated the code of conduct, which Gerdes said is important, because it emphasizes the role that everyone – from school administrators to students – plays in restorative practices.

Technology

Ben Bayle, district chief technology officer, said DeKalb school staff has been busy tackling concerns related to the digital divide, the homework gap and 1:1 technologies over the past year.

He said the district also has had to utilize cybersecurity products to protect students and the district.

The district has received roughly $1.8 million this fiscal year in funding between the Emergency Connectivity Fund, E-Rate, Digital Equity Grant and Meta grants to pay for technology initiatives, to date.