Projected enrollment for Independent School District 166 is down, but not as much as expected, said High School Principal Gwen Carman.
“As of now we have 479 K-9 students,” Carman told the school board at its Sept. 15 meeting. “Due to graduation and declining enrollment we thought we would lose 37 students, but we are down only 18. Some new families have moved in and we have had some changes in polices that have had a positive affect,” said Carman.
Results of the MCAII 2010 science tests are finally in and ISD 166 students scored just above the state average of 48.58 percent with a combined average of 49.01 percent.
However, said Carman, the fifth graders only tested at 31.25 percent compared to 46 percent for the rest of the state. “Technical difficulties caused the kids to stop [taking the test] and then start later in the day. We have spent a lot of time as a staff talking about that and talking with John Jacobsen about how to correct this problem,” said Carman.
Grades 8 and 10 scored 55.88 percent and 58.33 percent, about seven percent higher than the state averages for those grades.
Superintendent Beth Schwarz gave an operating levy update, telling the board that “302 of 337 school districts have operating levies in place.”
Due to school levies expiring and the need for more funds across the state, Cook County joins at least “75, likely more, districts who are going to voters for operating levies this fall,” making ISD 166’s quest to solicit funds from the voters to operate the school “not unusual,” said Schwarz.
A host of levy informational meetings have been or will be held in the near future, Schwarz added.
The board approved naming Schwarz as the district’s representative on the local energy project. The Cook County Local Energy Project group (CCLEP) is looking at best uses for wind, solar, geothermal and biomass to generate heat or electricity for local governmental units.
Also approved by the board was an agreement between the Cook County Tennis Association and the district to have the Tennis Association fund varsity tennis for the high school. The girls are currently playing their first season, with the boys’ season to be played in the spring.
A sports agreement between the Great Expectations charter school and ISD 166 was approved unanimously. GES students will be expected to pay the same sports fees as ISD 166 students. Currently several charter school kids participate in fall sports. The charter school only goes up to eighth grade so the kids will be joining ISD 166 teams when they reach ninth grade.
“This is good for the kids. This cooperation is what we need in the county,” Schwarz said.
The board discussed an open letter that a former paraprofessional had distributed throughout the community. This individual was one of four paraprofessionals let go over the summer due to budget cuts, but his contention was that he was targeted by Schwarz due to a court case that had nothing to do with his work at the school.
Schwarz told the board that she had passed the seven-page letter onto the district’s attorney who advised her to take no further action on this matter.
After some discussion, with only Leonard Sobanja asking that an attorney investigate several issues within the letter, the board voted 4-1 to leave the original action in place.
School board member Rod Wannebo wasn’t in attendance at the meeting but left a letter stating his opinion that he wasn’t going to change his original vote to let four paraprofessionals go due to budget cuts.
School Board Chairman Bill Huggins said that he hadn’t heard anything from the community, and as long as there wasn’t any uproar, he agreed to let the matter die.
In other matters, the district received a $625 donation from St. John’s Catholic Church to be applied to paying for athletic fees. An anonymous donor gave $250 for the same purpose and Geri Jensen gave $75 to the general fund. Northern Wilds
donated $195 in service work for designing an informational brochure and Lyle Gerard gave his $100 monthly donation.
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