REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF DWIGHT TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT #230
Held in the Dwight Township High School Board Room
On March 18, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Board President Joel Sandeno called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Chris Bunting; Erin Connor; Kim Frauli; Joel Sandeno; Eric Scheuer; Jake Tjelle
ABSENT: Max Sulzberger
Also in attendance: Josh DeLong, Superintendent; Deb Conroy, Secretary; Andy Pittenger, Principal
TROJAN OF THE MONTH
Mr. Pittenger announced that he has chosen Emily Moore as Trojan of the Month.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None
REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES OR REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. Pittenger’s report stands as read. He reported that the Fine Arts Night is tomorrow night, which features art work from all of the Art classes, as well as a performance by Band and Choir 5th through 12th grades.
Mr. Scheuer’s report stands as read.
Mr. DeLong spoke to a representative from the Heritage Prairie Windfarm Project and they stated that the project is moving forward. The substation in Essex has been started and road construction will begin in the summer. It is anticipated that the turbines will be done and online at some point in 2028.
Mr. DeLong informed the Board that he had a call with Senator Chris Balkema earlier this week. He asked the Senator to not support the cell phone ban bill as it is currently written and asked for more local control. He also gave the Senator figures on how much it would cost the districts if the unemployment bill is passed as currently written. He also informed the Board about an expectation that the mandated categorical payments may be severely prorated next school year, which will negatively affect our budgets.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Went into Executive Session at 6:16 p.m. to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity; According to Section 2, subsection c, #1 of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
exited Executive Session at 6:56 p.m.
CONSENT AGENDA
Items for consideration on this month’s Consent Agenda are as follows:
1) Minutes of the February 18, 2026 Regular Board Meeting
2) Bills
3) Approve Resignation, Emily Miles, Paraprofessional
4) Approve Resignation, Isabel Morales, Cheer Coach
5) Approve Resignation, Jordyn Emmons, Cheer Coach
6) Approve Employment, Keli Gall, Assistant Track Coach
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. DeLong made a recommendation for a 4% salary increase for the Support Staff for the 2026-27 school year.
Mr. DeLong presented his proposal for school fees for the 2026-27 school year. Changes would include raising breakfast by $0.05 and lunch fees by $0.10 accordingly for the NSLP program as well as starting to charge for AP exams ($99 per test) and Dual Credit courses ($36 for a 3-credit course).
Mr. DeLong presented the 2025-26 Seniority List for the Board’s review.
Mr. DeLong requested approval for IHSA Membership for the 2026-27 school year.
Mr. DeLong reported that he would like to add another attorney firm to the district. F3 is the firm that he would like to add. He noted that we do not need to bid out for attorney firms and he believes the addition of F3 will make sense as we move forward. There is no charge to add them unless we use their services and they charge in 6-minute increments for their services.
Mr. DeLong noted that it is time to renew our food service contract with Whitson’s for year 2 of the 5-year contract.
Mr. DeLong reported that it is time to renew our Intergovernmental Agreement with Pontiac Township High School for boys and girls swim teams. He noted that this is a simple update of our co-op agreement.
Mr. DeLong informed the Board that there is an opportunity for the district to co-op with GSW for their Spiritline Team. He noted that the GSW Board should be discussing this also tonight at their Board meeting. He said there are 2 incoming Freshmen who are interested in joining the squad.
Mr. DeLong also reported that he had been contacted by a parent of a St. Paul student who is interested in performing in our play productions. He noted that the plays are not sanctioned by the IHSA and that the decision to allow outside students to perform is up to the Administration and Board. The Board is supportive of this proposal; however, Mr. DeLong still needs to add this to Board policy which would need to be approved with specific language. He will bring this issue back to the Board at a future meeting.
adjourned the meeting at 7:17 p.m.
