The monthly meeting for the Board of Education of District 94 was held on March 24 at 7 p.m. after being postponed from its original date on March 17. Student and staff recognitions, school updates, and registration fees for the 2026–27 school year were discussed.

One of the most significant discussions of the night centered on student registration fees for the 2026–27 school year.

For the student fees from the year 2026–27, there were two options introduced to the board. Option A kept student registration fees the same while eliminating graduation fees, which is the current schedule. Option B reduced student registration fees while also eliminating graduation fees.

The vote was split 50/50, board members Rich Nagel, Katherine Doremus and Tammie Murphy all agreed on option A. Board members, Lynn Casey-Maher, Catalina Chavez and Bob Brown voted for option B.

Because the school had to send out registration forms in early May, the decision for the fees had to be made before the meeting ended.

“Tonight is the night for the board decision, one way or another,” Brown said.

Murphy and Doremus had coinciding thoughts about option A.

“I’m pretty certain we have a significant number of people in that income bracket that are taking those [fee] waivers, if there are some who didn’t that is unfortunate,” Doremus said.

Chavez discussed the possibility that some families may not know about the fee waiver they are eligible for and that some may not feel “empowered” to ask for the fees.

“Things aren’t always going to happen,” Doremus said.

Doremus’ point throughout the meeting included the concern she had of where they would get the money that would be lost from a reduction fee, which Oberg calculated to be $50,000, and if that money would affect the taxpayers of West Chicago.

“We have made significant adjustments to help people who are really in need,” Doremus said.

Nagel asked Oberg where the number of possible money lost came from.

“Just trying to come up with a reasonable number that I felt that I could live with. A reduction of $50,000 I felt was a reasonable number,” Oberg said.

After Nagel shared his concern about the anonymity of the number, Johansen shared his thoughts.

“I think it was more than just a guess, Dan looked at six or seven different districts in the area…really we looked at Fenton and we tried to be more like Fenton, which is how he came to these numbers,” Johansen said. “It wasn’t just close your eyes and throw a dart at the board.”

Brown suggested a possible compromise, but the idea was not adopted.

“What about the next $50,000 that comes to the table…they are going to pile up,” Doremus said. “We owe it to the people we represent, which are not just the students, but the people who live in this community.”

“I think it’s a shame you don’t want to help people in the community,” Casey-Maher said.

“I think it’s a shame you don’t want to support the people in the community by being fiscally responsible,” Doremus said.

After roughly 45-minutes of discussion between the board members, Brown broke the tie by changing his vote to option A.

“Given that we seem to be in a deadlock situation and we legally have to approve fees, under protests I guess I would have to switch and support the A side just so we can move forward,” Brown said. “I would much rather support reduced fees but I need a way forward, we have to approve some fees tonight.”

A few minutes later, the board moved into closed session.

Earlier in the meeting, the board recognized students and staff for their achievements.

The meeting started off with a run-through of the Student of the Month, Guadalupe Perez, who is involved in multiple activities at West Chicago Community High School, including Snowball, girls’ soccer and AV Club.

“She serves as a leader in my classroom. She takes initiative, and serves as a role model,” Brittney Bauer, child development teacher at WCCHS, said.

Perez also offered advice to other students.

“Always strive to be better, because putting in the work opens up so many opportunities,” Perez said.

Following the recognition, the board went on to share good news about the school community, including the winners of the Illinois state Voice of Democracy (VOD) competition. The state advancer of VOD representing District 94 was senior Avery Unger, whose speech advanced to the state level in Springfield, where she submitted a 3–5 minute video answering the prompt: “How are you showing patriotism and support for our country?”

Unger’s speech earned first place, senior Gwen Nika won second place, and senior Aly Dusing came in third.

“I hope not only the judges but also the veterans and also contestants will take away the idea that you don’t have to be a flashy patriot to show patriotism,” Unger said.

All three contestants were recognized at the board meeting along with the top participants in last year’s VOD event: Ruth Dim, Alexa Garcia, Sneha George, Omar Lutfiyev, Nick Riconosciuto, and Hailey Teran.

Later on, Educator of the Month and the Staff Member of the Month were presented. Marissa Rentner Janiszewski, band teacher at WCCHS, was present to accept her award.

“[A] dedicated and hardworking educator, Janiszewski has spent the past five years building and strengthening the band program,” Lisa Willuweit, division head of Humanities, said as she presented the honor. “She invests countless hours supporting students through performances, rehearsals and leadership development opportunities.”

Janiszewski’s students expressed similar thoughts.

“She taught me there is no limit to my abilities but I have to be willing to work hard,” Jacob Benitez, band student and senior, said.

The Staff member of the Month award was given to administrative assistant to student services Jaqueline Reese.

“A steady and dependable presence who helps one of the busiest offices in this school run smoothly,” division head of counseling, Dawn Erickson, and Director of Student Services, Len Egen, said. “Jackie truly stands out because she goes above and beyond every single day.”

Reports from several of the members in the room were given, including the superintendent report, principal report and student report.

The student report was given by the student board representatives, who discussed the Business Professionals of America (BPA) state trip in which eight of the participants placed top five in the competition. Representatives discussed the success of the first ever NHS leadership conference held on March 6, and the FCCLA bake sale that occurred the past week.

The principal’s report, delivered by Johansen in Principal Limaris Pueyo’s absence, included the third annual college and career fair, the first ever Winfield township job shadowing event which eight juniors attended, and the slight decrease in average daily attendance.

The Superintendent Report included the mention of the first 100th year celebration committee that was held on March 18, where they discussed future fundraisers and sponsorship events. Superintendent Johansen also discussed the shift of cost for prom transportation. The original estimate was about $32,000, but Executive Director of Business Services Dan Oberg found an alternative company that reduced the cost to approximately $17,350 through Echo Windy City.

That budget was approved later on in the meeting.

The new business agenda brought along topics such as the renovation of the auditorium, costing just under $1.3 million with the total cost of $273,106.08 to seating renovation.