Round Lake CUSD 116 board approves improvement plans, staffing changes, temporary‑facility filings and student‑data privacy membership

The Round Lake Area Schools Board approved a package of operational items on June 15, 2026, including school improvement plans for all nine schools, multiple administrative appointments, personnel inventory adjustments, and a membership to a student‑data privacy consortium.

Dr. Mendoza reviewed the district’s year‑end strategic‑plan accomplishments, including districtwide curriculum adoptions, targeted professional learning, a reduction in suspensions (about 16 percent) and expulsions, and stronger multilingual and special‑education practices. He said the district expanded early‑college credit opportunities (an 18 percent increase year‑over‑year) and obtained college‑and‑career pathway endorsements in multiple areas.

The board approved the 2026–27 continuous school improvement plans that administrators said are required to release Illinois Empower grant funding. Director Curtis said plans focus on ELA and mathematics interventions, resetting professional‑learning communities at elementary levels, ACT performance and reduced course failures at the secondary level, and strategies to address chronic absenteeism.

The board welcomed several administrative appointments: Darlene Silhy (principal, Murphy Elementary School), Amy Simon (assistant principal, Murphy Elementary) and Molly Latza (assistant principal, Early Education Center). Administration also proposed and the board approved two personnel‑inventory actions: reassigning an HR specialist into an executive‑assistant role for schools and HR, and hiring an HR specialist to manage benefits transition work; both moves were described as budget‑neutral and funded via attrition.

Other approved items included continuing contracts with staffing agencies for related‑services positions the district has difficulty filling (school psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists), awarding permission for the Round Lake High School chamber choir to attend the Augustana Chamber Choir Festival (Oct. 11–12; estimated $75 per student with fundraising and need‑based assistance), and signing on to the Student Data Privacy Consortium plus an education‑cooperative add‑on. Administration said the consortium will provide a workflow to approve vendor data‑privacy agreements and post agreements publicly to comply with the state’s student‑online‑privacy expectations; the membership cost is $1,525 with projected annual savings of more than $19,000 after canceling an existing platform subscription.

The board reviewed an architect’s checklist for mobile classrooms across district sites and approved applying for certificates of temporary occupancy. The architect identified maintenance items—high‑school mobile restrooms (flooring, stalls, exhaust fan), window and ramp concerns at Beach Elementary, and auxiliary repairs on several units. Administration said the district will file the temporary‑occupancy documentation and continue an analysis of whether to eliminate or repurpose mobile units as enrollment declines.

A parent speaker, Trisha Schneider, raised a separate concern in public comment: she said the district had been reimbursed registration fees (the speaker cited Medicaid) and that she was not notified of a refund; the board asked administration to collect details and follow up with the parent.

All listed motions in this article passed by unanimous roll call.

The board recessed to closed session after completing the evening’s public business.