From the Desk of the President of the Harrington Park Board of Education:
Hello, HP!
I hope that everyone is enjoying the first days of spring.
During last Thursday’s meeting, we approved the preliminary budget for School Year 2023-24. The Finance committee regularly meets with our administration to review the budgeting progress and to ensure that we find ways to be as efficient as possible with our funds. Of important note, our 2021-22 budget audit was completed and no issues were found. The final budget for SY 2023-24 will be approved in May.
Student Council representatives Sophia Park and Josie Kim presented during our meeting and shared the great news that they were able to collect and donate $1,760 via the Have-a-Heart Fundraiser and the Student Council Heart Gram sale. They were also able to raise $785 to support the victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake. This is great and inspiring work coming from the Student Council. We appreciate all the effort you put into this and look forward to the events you have planned for later this school year.
In regard to the Permanent Superintendent search, we have narrowed down the applicant pool and will be conducting the first round of interviews during the week of March 27th.
The Board notes and is appreciative of the continuous community engagement, including the large turnout of parents and teachers at our last meeting. The two biggest responsibilities of our roles as BOE members are: 1) to set policy in the district and 2) to hire the superintendent. This is the first time in 17 years that Harrington Park’s Board has had to hire someone for this role. We hear and see all the feedback from all of our community members and we will take this into consideration throughout this important process. We will continue to do our work with honor, respect, integrity and impartiality.
I also want to thank the members of this board, Mr. Jursca, our teachers and the acting administration. I recognize that it is not the normal course of business for a school year and can be difficult and/or challenging at times on both personal and professional levels. Thank you for your professionalism and dedication to the children of HP throughout this process.
The next Board of Education Public Session will be Thursday, April 20th at 6pm at the Community Church.
Kind Regards,
Peter Toomin