January 2010
As an alternative revenue enhancement initiative, the Board of Education approved four individual “grant of easement” agreements with Clear Wireless, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless that allow the carriers to use the easement on Hinsdale Central High School’s property to install a cell antenna on the water tower located at 333 57th Street. The cell phone carriers are currently seeking approval and permitting from the Village of Hinsdale.
The District will receive a $2,500 one-time signing bonus from each carrier, totaling $10,000. In addition, the District will receive $18,000 ($1,500 per month) in easement fees from each of the four carriers during the first year of the term, for a total of $72,000. The easement fee will increase by three percent each year thereafter. The agreements include five-year terms with three five-year renewal options for a total of a potential 20-year term.
The Board concluded an extensive safety review to arrive at this decision, having first heard presentations from scientists regarding this initiative on June 1, 2009, as well as reviewing relevant statistics from the World Health Organization. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation regarding transmitters states that the maximum exposure people can receive from a cell tower signal is 1 mW/cm2, which is five times lower than the exposure received when standing in front of a home microwave oven. Additional six-foot fencing and a gate will also be installed surrounding the water tower.
The Village of Hinsdale will hear presentations from contractors regarding developing the antenna and ensuring that it is not visually obtrusive, such as painting the new materials to match the current water tower and adding shrubbery. A decision by the Village is expected this spring and, if approved, construction will begin this summer.
The five present Board of Education members voted and passed the following:
To approve policies 7:20, 7:190, 7:310, 7:180 and 4:151, addressing student harassment, discipline and bullying, as well as environment and conservation practices at the District.
To authorize District administration to begin the process of making all public documents available in electronic format on the District’s website. Superintendent Wahl indicated next steps to include developing a public bid packet for estimates regarding assistance in converting and posting hardcopy documents into electronic format.
To appoint Board member Kay Gallo as secretary pro-tem.
To approve Board minutes from its December 9, 14 and 16, 2009 and January 11, 2010 meetings, as well as a business brief from January 25, 2010, following amendments regarding the deletion and addition of clarifying content requested by Board member Dianne Barrett. Minutes will be made available on the District website by January 29, 2010.
To approve Hinsdale Central field trips.
To accept a donation provided by District 86 families valued at $4,920 to Hinsdale Central’s music department. While the funds have not yet been earmarked, the donation did include musical instruments.
To approve four individual “grant of easement” agreements with Clear Wireless, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless. These agreements include five-year terms with three five-year renewal options. For more details on the agreement, click here.
To approve the payroll and monthly bills after the requested review by Board Member Dianne Barrett.
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Dr. Claudia Geocaris reported that a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Illinois has been signed, making the District eligible to apply for Race to the Top dollars should the State be granted funds. The first round of funding will be awarded to states in mid-April.
During the January 2010 Committee of the Whole meeting, the Board agreed to review existing policies and procedures regarding the Board’s role in reviewing and/or approving settlement agreements, particularly those that involve the expenditure of District funds and/or those related to student services and special education. Following general discussion by Board members during the Regular Action Board Meeting, the majority of Board members agreed to continue the District’s current policies and procedures in this regard, which include providing Superintendent Wahl and designated District staff the ability to negotiate and authorize such settlement agreements on behalf of the Board of Education without requiring further Board review or approval prior to finalizing.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Friday, February 5 at 7:30 a.m. at Hinsdale South.