Kenilworth School Board: Raises for admins, support staff; new lunch program

Members of the Kenilworth District 38 School Board unanimously approved 4.5% annual salary increase for administrative staff and noncertified support staff during their Monday, April 27 meeting.

The salary increases will cover the 2026-2027 school year and apply to administrators Joseph Sears Principal Stephanie Helfand, Assistant Principal Geoff Perlman, Chief Operating Officer Nathan McBride and Director of Student Services Carrie De La Cruz; and the district bookkeeper, the director of building and grounds, its IT systems and network manager, Donegan’s executive assistant, the executive assistant to the district’s chief operating officer and the director of student services, and the district’s director of buildings and ground. 

Superintendent Kate Donegan’s compensation is covered by a separate contract, McBride said Wednesday. 

McBride said the noncertified staff increase is tied to that of certified staff, while administrative increases match the increase teachers have through their contract. 

“This year it happens to be the same percentage point,” he said. 

McBride said each annual contract for the two groups has been tied to contractual raises in that fashion for several years and added he believed that has been the case since Donegan became superintendent. She was hired by the district in 2020. 

Lunch change

Kenilworth School District 38 is one step closer to operating its own lunch program starting in the 2026-’27 school year, now that the district’s School Board has approved food pricing for items that would be on the program’s first lunch menu. 

Board members approved the pricing numbers at their monthly board meeting on April 27. They are scheduled to consider overall cost estimates at their May meeting, when they are also expected to approve a final vendor contract.

The district is considering two vendors to provide food for Joseph Sears students: Organic Life and Quest Food Management Services. 

McBride, the district’s chief operating officer, told board members April 27 that the food pricing estimates fall within the range of cost estimates the district has been looking at. 

The pricing approved Monday includes the sale of a hot lunch special including fruit, vegetable and milk for $6; hot a la carte offerings running between $2 and $3.75; cold a la carte foods costing between $2.75 and $4.95; as well as snack items ($1.25-$2.50) and beverages ($.75—$2.50).

McBride said the new program is designed to break even financially, with costs covered by food sales. 

He said Wednesday that the board began researching an in-house lunch program last summer. Since then, it has visited the Organic Life operation at Sunset Ridge School District 29, and now has cost estimates from Organic Life and a second vendor, Quest, which provides food service at New Trier High School, as well as plenty of other schools.

The estimates were shared with the board’s building and finance committee, according to the report presented April 27 to the board. 

McBride said the estimates were also shared with the Joseph Sears School Parents’ Volunteer Association, generally known as the JSSPVA. That group currently manages the lunch program on a volunteer basis. On Monday, board members thanked the group for its support. 

The board also surveyed parents and students about what they would want in the lunch program; students taste-tested food from Organic Life earlier this year. 

McBride told board members that the volunteer association has agreed to donate $55,000 to cover the cost of appliances needed to operate the new program. In his report, he said budget estimates include a $15,000 margin to handle electrical costs associated with renovating the school’s existing warming kitchen, as well as providing a cushion he said would cover “the uncertainty that comes with launching a new program.” 

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