Glenbard District 87 Board of Education meeting highlights (12-1-2025)

   
Board Highlights feature a brief description of the action items and discussion items on the meeting agenda. Board Highlights do not replace minutes. The minutes are approved by the Board and posted after the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. Present: Jay Bastian, Margaret DeLaRosa, Kermit Eby, Hetal Lee, Martha Mueller, Pete Nolan and Jim Shannon.
   

THE BOARD APPROVED:

– authorization to enter into a contract for emergency general education transportation service. The administration recommended Board approval of a termination of service agreement with Safeway, its current student transportation service provider, and separate transportation service agreements with Durham and Cook Illinois to replace the transportation services provided by Safeway due to:

1. The deficient level of service provided by Safeway;
2. Safeway’s representations to the District that it could not sustain service to the District under its current contracts; and
3. Safeway’s failure to demonstrate sufficient facilities and financial resources to fulfill its current contractual commitments after the upcoming winter holiday break with respect to general education students and after February 28, 2026 with respect to special education students.

Renewed issues with Safeway were communicated to the Board and the community this fall. Over the last few months, significant efforts have been made to assure long-term service and satisfactory levels of service from Safeway, but without success. The point has now been reached that the imminent risk of sudden and complete loss, or at minimum substantially reduced and interrupted, service for the approximately 3,800 of our students transported to and from school and school activities daily necessitates ending the District’s contracts with Safeway and contracting with Durham and Cook Illinois on an emergency basis.

The motions regarding the service contracts with Durham and Cook Illinois recommended for adoption by the Board of 18-month transportation service agreements. Both Durham and Cook Illinois are willing to ramp up the provision of service to the District mid-school year, only with an 18-month duration to account for the significant amount of start-up costs they will incur to provide the services on such a short-term basis. The contracts have been negotiated with prices competitive with those paid by area school districts, but are being awarded on an emergency basis without formal competitive bidding. This is permitted by the Illinois School Code as long as the contracts receive at least six yes votes from School Board members. Durham will provide service for Glenbard East, North and South students, and Cook Illinois will provide service for Glenbard West students.

The competitive bidding process is a long and complicated process. If followed under the present circumstances, the bidding process presents risks of a lengthy interruption of transportation services to our students, the loss of state aid and a significant extension of school into the summer, likely combined with remote learning. These are risks that can be avoided entirely, or at least substantially reduced, by contracting with Durham and Cook Illinois on an emergency basis.

District 87 has received multiple proposals to provide general education transportation services on an emergency basis, effective January 1, 2026. The administration has analyzed these proposals and selected Durham to provide service for Glenbard East, South, and North High Schools. Cook Illinois will provide service for Glenbard West. This contract shall not exceed 18 months in duration. The District has finalized contracts with Durham and Cook Illinois.

– Glenbard East commons addition & renovations, bid package #5 – recommendation to award for Gilbane (Wold design) for structural steel bid package. Nineteen out of 20 bid packages were approved by the Board on November 24, 2025. The original low structural steel contractor has withdrawn their bid due to not including overtime for two summers’ worth of work and some additional curtain wall steel. Gilbane has reviewed the scope of work with the second low steel contractor, K&K Ironworks, and they have confirmed that they have included everything in their bid.

Gilbane recommended the approval of K&K Ironworks for the structural steel package for the commons addition and interior renovations in the amount of $1,214,000. This is $119,000 more than the original low bid but is still under the original budget.