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School building goals discussed as IL Governor hints at reviving Capital Building bill
by Joy Swearingen, J-P Correspondent
Carthage: Illini West High School Athletic Director, Zak Huston, gave the board a short primer on what will happen when district football begins in the fall of 2021, during the regular board meeting Jan. 16.
"I know there is a good chance you will get questions, and I wanted to share some of the basics with you," Huston told the board.
IHSA voted to set up football districts starting in the 2021-22 school year. There will be eight classes, with eight districts per class and eight teams (minimum) per district. The top four teams of each district will go to playoffs.
Teams will play seven district games and set up their own non-district play. The non-district games will not be considered in the playoff determination.
"We say the non-district games don't "count' but all football games "matter.' Some of these non-district games may be with some of our long-standing traditional rivalries," Huston said.
"It is hard to say which schools will be in each district. We can make some guesses. We should know by December of 2020."
The field of teams will be affected by which schools choose to continue their co-op football teams and if some schools decide to go to eight-man football.
"I am a believer in district football. I think it was the right thing to do," he said. For the most part, all other sports and activities will stay with the Prairieland Conference.
Dean of Students Jim Short reviewed progress made with tardies and unexcused absences.
"While the number is still higher than we want, it is drastically down from first semester last year. I think our interventions are working," Short told the board.
Tardies for first semester 2018 were 704, compared to 853 in first semester of 2017. Unexcused absences were 444 for first semester 2018, compared to 843 in first semester of 2017.
Consequences for habitual tardies or unexcused absences were only 33 in fall 2018 compared to 62 in fall of 2017.
Short said his approach is to meet with a student, contact parents, go get a student if he or she misses the bus, and share resources with the family.
"The key thing is having contact, talking with the student and parents. We are still figuring out what works," Short said. "This year we worked with the three elementary schools, and got lists of students with attendance problems. We targeted them with support, and we'll continue to do that."
Principal Scott Schneider said 54 percent of students qualified for the PBIS reward trip to Fun City after second quarter. That was an increase over 51 percent in first quarter.
"It was so many kids we had to split it up," Schneider said. "It is a good time, a chance to talk with the kids in an atmosphere that is not school."
Superintendent Kim Schilson reported she is working with several schools to get new finance software. The local schools go together to get a better rate. The program they have used is no longer existent. The superintendents and district bookkeepers will work together on the final decision.
The board approved advertising for bids on renovation of the building bathrooms, both just inside the main door, and in the east hallway. The work will be done in the summer.
Schilson reviewed how the superintendents work together in deciding when school is canceled because of bad weather. She noted that while main roads may be clear, buses on country roads can have problems, especially when they must pull into a farm driveway to turn around, and then back out when only one narrow lane has been plowed of snow.
Schilson discussed how things might change in Illinois finance with the new governor. She urged the building committee to work on one-year, five-year and ten-year plans for the district. She said Pritzker had said he wants to bring back a Capital Building bill.
"We need to have direction. We need to have goals we are working toward. Will we stay here and spend money on this building, or should we save our money toward a new building."