The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Joy Swearingen, J-P correspondent
Now that the Illinois Legislature has passed a capital improvement funding bill, the Illini West High School board is looking at the options for better housing for their students.
At their meeting June 19, Superintendent Kim Schilson explained to the board what this state action means for the district.
"They are creating a committee that will make a plan of action. That committee doesn't report until March of 2020," Schilson said. Of the $41.5 billion allotted for infrastructure capital improvements, $3.5 billion are earmarked for K-12 educational facilities.
"If (the committee) actually does a study of the facts and takes politics out of it, we should be at the top of the list. We are "homeless'," said Schilson.
Carthage Elementary School District owns the building that houses Illini West. Twelve of their 24 classrooms are in portable units, outside the main structure.
"Safety is our biggest concern," Schilson added. In addition to having doors unlocked to give students access to these portable units, she described efforts to bring students into the main building when there were tornado warnings during school hours earlier this year.
As a committee of the whole, the Building for the Future committee held a special meeting in May to discuss options for building improvements or new construction.
After that meeting, the district approved $1,000 with Russell, a construction and development firm, to assess costs of repairs and improvements to the current building.
"We know a new high school would cost around $30 million. I want to talk specifics with Steve Baumann (of Russell) on what they can do to this building for $20 million," Schilson said.
The board also discussed a timeline for placing a construction referendum on the ballot.
Illini West has been near the top of the list for approved capital improvement projects ever since the district was formed, because they do not own their facilities. To receive capital development funds, which could cover close to 75 percent of the cost, local funds must already be secured through a voter approved referendum.
In other business, the board heard a report from technology director, Chris Greenhalge. He said there are now 24 large-screen, interactive televisions in the building, one for each classroom.
There are 35 new chromebooks, all teachers have laptops, and 320 laptops on carts are available through the building.
"This is not a true one-to-one system because we are not sending these home with every student. It is a hybrid plan," Greenhalge said. He has purchased a new server that is ready and in the server room.
Dean of Students Jim Short presented a year-end report on student discipline. He noted that referrals and violations resulting in suspension and detention are all down, except for the use of tobacco and vaping products.
Tardies remain steady and unexcused absences are up slightly. He said he was pleased they were getting more calls when a student misses the bus. Staff can help get the student to school, resulting in a tardy or unexcused for just one period, not for the whole day.
Following executive session, the board confirmed the appointment of all spring 2019-2020 coaches with the following list:
Zak Huston, head baseball coach; Luke Burling, assistant baseball coach; Ryan Bliss, head softball coach; LaShay Ramirez, assistant softball coach; Michael Lafferty, head boys track coach; Dave Peacock, assistant track coach; Danielle White, head girls track coach; and Dakota Flesner, assistant track coach.
They confirmed the appointment of Ashtyn St. Clair Miller as a Spanish teacher and Lindsey Phillips as secretary. The resignation of Robert Eaton as assistant football coach was accepted.
The board approved procedures for approving curriculum based and extra-curricular field trips.
A list of text books and 240 miscellaneous library books were approved as surplus items.