Norridge District 80 adds new principal as grade center plan moves forward

At their first meeting since the failure of an April 4 referendum request intended to temporarily stave off deep cuts, Norridge School District 80 officials laid off three support staff members, hired a new principal and hired back three teachers who were previously let go.

District 80 Superintendent Paul O'Malley updated board members and the dozens of community members gathered at the school board meeting April 18 on the district's progress transitioning from two kindergarten through eighth-grade schools to grade centers — with the John V. Leigh School, at 8151 W. Lawrence Ave., serving those in kindergarten through fourth grade; and the James Giles School, located at 4251 N. Oriole Ave., serving students in fifth through eighth grades.

The board also unanimously approved the hiring of Stephanie Palmer as principal/assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Giles School under a two-year contract. Palmer recently resigned as principal at Hinsdale South High School. The current principal of Giles, Michele Guzik, will serve as principal of Leigh once the district transitions to grade centers next year.

O'Malley said teachers have been assigned to classrooms under the new system.

"You may hear some teachers may not like where they are placed. ... I get it ... change is challenging," O'Malley said. He added that the district was committed to supporting its teachers through the transition.

He said he's also in the process of scheduling open community forums to discuss the new grade centers with parents, but he has not done so yet because "I don't have all the answers."

"I'm the type of person that if I'm going to have an open forum, I better have the answers," he said. O'Malley said he would host a forum in April.

In addition to hiring a new principal, the district also hired back three of 17 teachers who were previously notified that they would be dismissed under the first round of district cost reductions. Last month, O'Malley said officials were moving forward with a new staffing configuration as part of a reduction plan that must be submitted to the state. The plan calls for cutting $750,000 in expenses in the upcoming year and possibly an additional $850,000 the next year, O'Malley said last month.

The reductions come after 77 percent of voters came out against a $60.6 million tax increase referendum question on the ballot last November. Voters also rejected a dramatically scaled-down second request for funds on April 4. The April referendum question was asking for approval of a $1.25 million tax increase.

The hirings of Christopher Scarpulla, Todd Browder and Adrienne Ryba were unanimously approved by board officials on April 18, and their approvals generated rounds of applause from the audience. Scarpulla will serve as music teacher at both Giles and Leigh, Ryba will serve as physical education teacher for students in sixth and seventh grades, and Browder will teach writing at Giles.

The board also approved the honorable dismissal of three educational support staffers. Board secretary Cynthia Stec voted against the dismissals, and member Mike Bellafiore abstained.

O'Malley also updated board officials on the classroom sizes under the new grade center system. Kindergarten classrooms would house 25 students per teacher, first and fourth grades would contain 24 students per teacher, second grade would consist of 22 students per teacher, third grade would include 28 pupils per instructor, fifth grade would include 26 students per teacher, while sixth and seventh would total 23 students per teacher and 25 pupils per instructor in eighth grade, he said.

O'Malley said the ratio of students to teachers is not quite so large as the classroom totals suggest given that each grade level will be assigned its own dedicated special education teacher.

A survey was sent out to students that asked pupils about their fears and worries about the transition, O'Malley said. District staff are working on a powerpoint presentation to address the results of that survey, he said. The presentation, which will be posted online, will "answer many of the questions and fears and de-escalate a lot of the anxiety people are feeling," O'Malley said.

Frank Tribuzio, a parent of two children enrolled in the district, spoke at the meeting. Following the meeting, he said that he's worried what will happen to art, music, world languages and physical education as the district seeks to meet target reductions. Even if parts of the curriculum aren't on the chopping block this year, they may be in the near future, he said.

Tribuzio was part of a parent group called Citizens for District 80 that advocated in favor of last November's referendum.

"It's just sad all around," he said.

Board members also asked about traffic patterns under the new grade center system.

"We're not going to tell people what streets to use," O'Malley said. "I don't want the residents coming after me. ... You as a parent are going to do what's best for you."

He added that the current traffic patterns around the schools are "great" and he has received no complaints about them.

"It's surprising you haven't heard any complaints because I've heard quite a bit of it," said board member Jennifer Paoletti. "I can't see it getting any better, and I want to make sure this is something that is ongoing and regularly looked at."

O'Malley said the board could opt to pay for a traffic study. "There are companies that do this for a living," he said.

The board adjourned into closed session for more than an hour at the April 18 meeting. They reconvened in open session only to table approval of a new lease agreement with the Norridge Park District. The park district currently leases about 9,500 square feet of space at Leigh, and park district officials have expressed interest in expanding that to nearly 15,000 square feet.

Board president Srbo Radisavljevic said in an interview following the meeting that the district's lease agreement with the park district expired last June and that officials are still negotiating the terms of a new agreement.

Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.