The Flossmoor District 161 Board of Education discussed a long list of potential organizational and educational goals at the Jan. 27 meeting.

The list presented to the board was divided into five goal areas:

• Student Achievement
• Learning Environment
• Professional Environment
• Family and Community Partnerships 
• Resource Equity

The draft list includes eliminating achievement gaps, improving school culture and climate, and increasing teacher effectiveness and parent participation. The board will work together in committee meetings and as a whole to narrow down the list and make a plan that will guide decisions in the coming years.

Michael Rouse II told his fellow board members that he believes it is important to consider connecting short-term and long-term goals carefully.

“Sometimes we have to slow down to speed up,” Rouse said. “We need to slow down and make sure we do things with a high level of clarity in terms of what the overall goals and objectives are for our school district. It’s not the time you’re getting them in there, but the impact you’re getting on your mid and long-term objectives.”

Superintendent Dana Smith also expressed his thoughts about the plans and ballparked some numbers for the ideas.

“If I see a pinch point coming, it will be the difference between what we think something is going to cost and what the actual strategies should be,” Smith said. “I think in order to reach the level that this board is currently talking about, we’re going to have to take some leaps that do not exist on this paper and currently do not exist in our school improvement plans because we haven’t been courageous enough. That’s not a knock on anybody. But as we’re thinking about some of these pieces, [for example] how committed are we to everyone reading on grade level by a particular point? Are we so committed that you won’t get specials? There’s a cost to that financially. There’s a real emotional cost to that, also.”

At the meeting, Smith stressed that community feedback should be essential to this planning process. In an email sent out on Feb. 1, he asked parents and community members to “please be on the lookout for the goal-setting survey in the coming weeks, and if you would like to have a personal conversation about the future of District 161, please call or email me at your convenience.”

D161 investments increase

The Bloom Township School Treasurer, Rob Grossi, shared the annual investment report with the board.

Township treasurers manage a pool of combined funds from the township’s schools. Grossi reported that high interest rates increased the district’s return on investment from around $500,000 last year to $1.2 million this year. He warned that because inflation has dropped, interest rates have also started to drop, which can reduce the return on investments in coming years.

Grossi told board members his most significant concern for the future is “lingering labor inflation.” He explained that because unemployment rates are so low, payroll expenses may increase, burdening school district budgets.

While the district’s financial position is solid, rising salaries and teacher shortages may complicate some of the board’s long-term achievement goals.