At Dec. 11 meeting, D201 Approves Tax Levy, Appoints Melissa Cundari To Board and Discusses School Lockdown
Melissa Cundari gets sworn in by District 201 superintendent Timothy Truesdale (Photo by Jesus J. Montero)
By Ankur Singh, additional reporting by Jesus J. Montero
At the December 11 board meeting, District 201 discussed many things including the aftermath of the lockdown at Morton East, approval of a tax levy, and appointed Melissa Cundari to the board after Kasumba “Kal” Lwanga stepped down on October 30.
The meeting occurred the day after Morton East High School underwent a lockdown after a student reported overhearing that another student had a firearm. After a thorough search by Cicero Police no gun was found and the lockdown was lifted.
Board members expressed thanks to the students, teachers, administrators and police officers who responded to the situation with care.
“The students remained poised knowing safety was a priority while working alongside Cicero Police Department. It’s never the situation you want to deal with going into work,” said superintendent Timothy Truesdale.
“This past week has been very chaotic on both campuses,” said student representative Gloria Maldonado.
According to Maldonado, a student from the district had passed away that week and that other students had passed away earlier this year. She stated that the district has about one social worker for every three councilors but that students are not made aware of the resources available to them.
“Although depression is an important issue with many adolescents in 2019, Morton West provides many councilors, social workers and psychologists,” continued Maldonado. “All we need now is for our students to take advantage of these resources before we have an unfortunate event occur again.”
The board also approved a tax levy, which is the district’s request to the county for additional property tax revenue. District 201 currently receives about 29 percent of its funding from property taxes. They requested $41 million from the county in property tax revenue, which is a 4.93 percent increase from 2018.
In addition to the tax levy, the district also announced the appointment of Melissa Cundari to the school board to fill the vacancy left since Kasumba “Kal” Lwanga resigned on October 30.
Lwanga declined to comment for this story.
Cundari was previously on the board for Morton College for many years. The morning of the District 201 board meeting Cundari submitted her resignation to the Morton College board due to conflicts with her schedule.
Morton College board meetings typically take place on a Wednesday at 11 a.m., during which Cundari is unavailable due to her job at the Department of Agriculture with the US federal government.
She made a request to move the board meeting times to accommodate her schedule or for the times to alternate, but, according to her, a majority of the board did not want to move the time.
“I was disappointed,” Cundari told Cicero Independiente. “But when you're a board member you're one of the seven. The majority rules so to speak.”
Morton College in the past has had trouble keeping consistent board meetings. In 2016, the time and date of board meetings changed 60 percent of the time. In 2017, they changed 47 percent. The inconsistent meetings were a factor of the Higher Learning Commission placing the college ‘On Notice’ in 2018. The meeting scheduled was made more consistent in August 2018.
“Morton College holds a special place in my heart,” Cundari continued. “I feel proud of the things that have been accomplished over the last 11 years.”
“I am proud of the new wing, a lot of the new programs that came to fruition. It seems like the past couple of years we have increased mental health resources, which was so important.”
Cundari also said that she was looking forward to expanding dual-credit opportunities for District 201 students by increasing partnerships with community colleges in the area.
Morton College has since appointed Susan Grazzini, Cicero’s Director of Health, as Cundari’s replacement on the college’s board.
The next District 201 board meeting will take place January 8, 2020.
