School District U-46 Packet Summary — August 17, 2026
School District U-46’s Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026, at the U-46 Welcome Center in Elgin, with the public business session scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. The agenda includes school-readiness and facility-planning updates, 2026-2027 school improvement plans, major construction insurance proposals, district financial reports, and a series of contracts and resolutions.
Key Items on the Agenda
2026-2027 School Readiness and Facility Planning
Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Johnson is scheduled to provide a school-readiness update for the 2026-2027 school year with members of the district Cabinet. Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm and Capital Strategy and Operations Officer Dr. Ann Williams are also scheduled to present an update on facility planning.
The Board is expected to review 2026-2027 School Improvement Plans covering elementary, middle and high schools throughout the district. Assistant Superintendent William Johnson and Director Matt Raimondi are scheduled to be available for questions about the plans.
New Elgin Elementary School Insurance
Two discussion/action proposals concern insurance for construction of the New Elgin Elementary School under the Unite U-46 initiative.
- Builder’s Risk Insurance: Administration recommends a Chubb Insurance Company policy, presented through Alliant Insurance Services, for $68,697. The policy is designed to protect a project with a total insured value of $53,549,104, including $51,552,628 in hard construction costs and $1,996,476 in owner soft costs.
- Owner Controlled Insurance Program: Administration recommends a $632,717 proposal from Alliant Insurance Services for an Owner Controlled Insurance Program, or OCIP. The program would provide approximately $52 million in primary and excess liability protection for enrolled contractors and subcontractors working on the project.
Both expenditures are assigned to the Capital Projects Fund and included in budgets for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. The packet states that both coverages were bound in June 2026 because insurance was needed before demolition and construction activities could proceed; the Board is being asked to approve the proposals.
Major Financial Items
$37.6 Million List of Bills
Administration recommends approval of the August 17 list of bills totaling $37,625,776.64. The amount includes $14,584,667.50 in fund expenditures, $19,429,083.70 in ACH and wire transfers, and $3,612,025.44 in pre-issued payments.
June Financial Report
The Board is scheduled to review the district’s June financial report. For fiscal year 2025-2026, the report lists approximately $997.7 million in total revenue against approximately $967.5 million in total expenditures, producing revenue over expenditures of approximately $30.2 million.
As of June 30, the report shows a $632.4 million fund balance, a combined cash, money-market and investment balance of approximately $922.8 million, and 9.64 months of cash on hand under the district’s financial profile calculation.
Fourth-Quarter Investments
The fourth-quarter investment report values the district’s investment portfolio at $868.9 million as of June 30, 2026, an increase of $69.8 million, or 8.7%, from the previous quarter. The district earned $7.0 million in investment interest during the quarter.
The portfolio ended the quarter with 23.5% in liquid investments and 76.5% in fixed-rate investments, compared with 38% liquid and 62% fixed-rate investments in the prior quarter.
Contracts and Operational Proposals
School Resource Officers
The Board is scheduled to review proposed 2026-2027 School Resource Officer contract renewals with the City of Elgin and the villages of South Elgin, Bartlett and Streamwood. Administration recommends agreements totaling $1,412,035.18 for 15 officers serving the district’s comprehensive high schools and middle schools.
The proposed agreements would run from August 26, 2026, through June 9, 2027. The packet identifies August 17 as the Board review date and September 14, 2026, as the proposed Board action date.
Video and Access-Control Maintenance
Administration recommends renewing the district’s video and access-control maintenance agreement with Convergint for $349,480.36. The expenditure would come from the Operations and Maintenance Fund and is included in the 2026-2027 budget.
Larsen Middle School Emergency HVAC Repair
The Board will review a $76,225 proposal from Dennis Curtis Boiler Service & Sales for emergency work at Larsen Middle School. According to the packet, the school’s original 1952 boiler experienced a mechanical failure involving the condensate return tank.
District administration authorized emergency work to restore and maintain service, with work beginning February 2 and completed May 12, 2026. The packet states that the work was completed without interruption to heating service or educational activities; formal Board action is identified for September 14.
Automotive Career and Technical Education
Administration recommends renewing the district’s Electude automotive-technology learning platform for $69,955 for 2026-2027. The proposed price is 3.45% above the prior year’s $67,622.50 contract.
The packet reports substantial growth in Automotive Service Excellence credentials: 23 students earned ASE certifications in 2022-2023, compared with 104 students earning 336 certifications in 2025-2026. Board action is identified for September 14.
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda includes personnel matters, May 18 Board meeting minutes and several previously reviewed proposals and contracts. Among the items scheduled for consideration are:
- $55,490 to Hypertec USA for 310 new 27-inch office computer monitors, replacing equipment that has been in service for more than 10 years. District technology staff would handle installation, which is expected to be completed by the end of November 2026.
- Up to $55,000 for eligible educators to attend the 2026 La Cosecha Conference, focused on dual-language instruction, biliteracy and culturally responsive teaching.
- A $346,299 five-year contract with Heartland Payment Systems for the district’s food-service point-of-sale and MySchoolApps systems.
- A $61,500 contract renewal with the Kane County Regional Office of Education to provide customized school-improvement support to six schools identified for targeted or comprehensive support.
- A professional-learning consulting contract with Jaime Hudspeth Bailey Consulting for up to $44,000, supporting school-improvement work at five elementary schools.
The Heartland proposal represents a 29.18% reduction over the five-year contract compared with the previous annual cost structure, according to the packet. The professional-learning consulting proposal also reduces spending from $79,200 in 2025-2026 to $44,000 in 2026-2027, primarily by reducing consulting days from 36 to 22 and eliminating virtual consulting days.
Resolutions and Transportation
Serious Safety Hazard Findings
Administration recommends adoption of the annual resolution authorizing submission of serious safety hazard findings to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The packet states that district staff reviewed newly established attendance boundaries for 2026-2027.
If approved, the designated location would be submitted to the state, students residing within the designated area would receive free transportation during the 2026-2027 school year, and the district would seek state reimbursement for those transportation services.
Surplus Safety Mirrors
Administration recommends approval of Resolution #2708 authorizing disposal of surplus acrylic safety mirrors that the district says are no longer needed because of excess inventory and changing facility needs.
The inventory includes 224 quarter-dome mirrors valued at $2,060.80, 365 half-dome mirrors valued at $6,256.10, and 503 full-dome mirrors valued at $18,701.54. The proposed resolution would authorize the superintendent to dispose of the property through public or private sale and report sales information back to the Board.
Temporary Classrooms
The Board is also scheduled to review Resolution #2710 declaring a continuing need for temporary classrooms. The resolution specifically seeks continued use of a six-classroom temporary facility at Century Oaks Elementary for 2026-2027.
The accompanying report identifies capacity for 168 students in that facility and says construction of an addition and renovations is expected to eliminate the temporary-space need in summer 2027, with completion anticipated by August 2027.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The August 17 agenda separates several items requiring immediate action from work-session proposals scheduled for later Board action. The $37.6 million bill list and the two New Elgin Elementary construction-insurance proposals are presented as discussion/action items for August 17, while proposals including the SRO agreements, Larsen HVAC work, Electude renewal and temporary-classroom resolution are presented for review ahead of anticipated September action.
The meeting will also give the Board its broad look at 2026-2027 school readiness and individual School Improvement Plans, alongside financial reports showing the district’s fiscal-year-end position and investment portfolio.
