Illinois State Board of Education Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole met March 10.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. Roll Call
Committee Chair Dr. Patricia Nugent brought the meeting to order at 2 p.m. Roll call was taken. A quorum was present, with six members attending in person. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders also was in attendance.
Members Present
Committee Chair Dr. Patricia Nugent
Dr. Steven Isoye
Dr. Donna Leak
Laura Gonzalez
Dr. Judy Hackett
Luvia Moreno
Members Absent
Dr. James Anderson
Dr. Jonah Rice
Staff Present
Dr. Tony Sanders, State Superintendent
Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent
Jo Ireland, Board Services Coordinator
Kristen Kennedy, Chief Legal Officer
Dr. Kimako Patterson, Chief of Staff
Tassi Maton, Chief Internal Audit Officer
Dr. Matt Seaton, Chief Financial Officer
Cynthia Lund, Chief Governmental Relations Officer
Dr. Jason Helfer, Special Advisor to the State Superintendent
Miguel Calderon, Chief Operating Officer
Mike Dizon, Chief Communications Officer
Dr. Michele Morris, Interim Chief Education Officer – Instruction
Jennifer Saba, Chief Education Officer – Operations
Edobor Efam, Chief Information Officer
Rae Clementz, Executive Director of Data, Accountability & Assessment
Dr. Christine Paxson, Executive Director of Improvement & Innovation
Dr. Ronda Dawson, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning
Joyce Gronewold, Executive Director of Specialized Instruction
Dr. Nikki Combs, Director of School/District Improvement
Dr. Nakia Douglas, Director of Special Education
Dr. Deshonda Daniels-Wright, Director of ROE/ISC
Kristen Parr, Director of Standards & Instruction
Maureen Font, Director of Data Strategies & Analytics
David Turovetz, Director of Charter Schools
2. Public Participation
There was no public participation.
3. Approval of Minutes: February 18, 2026
Dr. Leak moved that the Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole hereby approve the February 18, 2026, meeting minutes. Dr. Hackett seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote.
4. Superintendent’s Consent Agenda
There were no questions regarding the consent agenda items.
5. Upcoming April Board Action
A. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Social Studies and Professional Learning
Director of Standards & Instruction Kirsten Parr discussed this item. Dr. Nugent asked for an update on the number of participants in each of the previous cohorts. Ms. Parr stated there were over 1,000 educators who had participated at this time, impacting over 500,000 students. In addition, she stated a total of 10,000 people had viewed social studies network resources, the YouTube channel had received over 8,000 visits, and the social media account had received over 35,000 interactions. Dr. Leak asked if they were seeing an impact in student achievement connected to the use of this money for professional development. Ms. Parr shared that there is survey data that shows educator impact from the beginning of cohort time to end of cohort time, and while they don’t have state assessments that directly access social science, it does impact and show up in the ELA scores, which have had a general increase. Dr. Leak asked for a map of where the 1,000 participants come from in the state. Ms. Parr will look into getting that information for the Board.
B. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Regional Office of Education 9 for the Illinois Learning Technology Center
Director of Standards & Instruction Kirsten Parr discussed this item. Dr. Nugent asked Dr. Sanders if there was a connection with this work and the artificial intelligence (AI) task force. Dr. Sanders confirmed there is a connecting piece through the work. Ms. Parr stated that once the guidance is put out from the state regarding AI, the Learning Technology Center could help support districts and schools as they implement that guidance.
C. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of the Three-Year Intergovernmental Agreement with Northern Illinois University for the Illinois Report Card, My Data Dashboard, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Director of Data Strategies & Analytics Maureen Font discussed this item. Dr. Nugent asked what the pros and cons were to moving from a one-year agreement to a three-year agreement. Ms. Font noted a cost savings and stability of support of the accountability redesign with having the same contractor for three years. Dr. Leak shared concern about the possible loss of federal funding and the impact it would have on this agreement. Ms. Font shared that two-thirds of the contract is federal funding, and there have been internal discussions about prioritization based on state and federal mandates.
6. Internal Audit Updates
Chief Internal Audit Officer Tassi Maton led this discussion.
A. Current Audits and Forthcoming Reports
i. FY 2024 Statewide Single Audit
ii. FY 2025 Statewide Single Audit
iii. FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) Statewide Audit
B. FY 23/24 Compliance Examination Progress Report
Ms. Maton shared that the FY 2024 statewide single audit testing has concluded for the agency, and the auditors are still completing testing at other agencies. She stated the FY 2025 statewide testing continues, and the FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report is showing signs of nearing competition, but she does not have any definitive conclusion information at this time. Ms. Maton discussed the third and final progress report for the FY
2023-24 compliance examination agile finding follow-up. She shared that the updates are based upon recurring meetings held with staff to ensure they moved forward with corrective actions. Ms. Maton said she would be happy to answer questions but recommended doing so in closed session because it relates to internal control issues around compliance. Dr. Nugent stated she had discussed with Chair Isoye prior to the meeting, and it was decided they would save any questions around this report for the closed session scheduled for the next day’s meeting.
7. Closed Session (if needed)
The closed session item was not needed.
8. New Business: Items for the Next Agenda
There were no requests for items for the next agenda.
9. Next Meeting: April 14, 2026
Dr. Nugent stated that the next meeting would be on April 14, 2026, in Springfield. She noted that it would start at 2 p.m.
10. Adjourn
Ms. Moreno moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Gonzalez seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote. Chair Nugent adjourned the committee meeting at 2:27 p.m.
https://go.boarddocs.com/il/isbe/Board.nsf/files/DSTMRC5C7931/$file/FA%20Minutes%20-%20March%2010%2C%202026.pdf
