Two new buses on the way; SFPD will use scrap bus

During the Staunton Board of Education meeting held on Tuesday night, Jan. 17, Brett Allen, the Staunton School District superintendent, stated that the school district is slated to receive delivery of two buses by the end of the month from Midwest Transit that were approved for purchase last fiscal year. Once necessary radios have been installed, these buses will be rotated into the regular route fleet for daily use.

The district will also be completing all the necessary paperwork for the EPA Grant Reimbursement. Plus, the district is working cooperatively with the Staunton Fire Protection District to utilize one of the scrap buses in a training exercise before disposal.

Board Spotlight

Superintendent Allen asked the members of the board to spotlight the Staunton High School Illinois State Scholars. The State Scholar Program publicly and personally identifies graduating high school seniors who possess superior academic potential. The Illinois State Scholar program is awarded to high school seniors based on ACT or SAT test scores and the sixth semester class size and unweighted class rank and Grade Point Average (GPA). This year’s State Scholars include: Valeria Cazares, Andrew Dustman, Zachary Painter, Emma Saracco, Joseph Siegfried, and Emma Tjaden.

Financial Report

Allen reported that he has met with the Bank of Springfield and they have been very responsive and helpful to the school district in relation to the district’s certificates of deposit and working to earn the best return rate. Allen recommended to the board to approve the district to take the funds within the CDs and invest them in treasuries with the Bank of Springfield Asset Management Team through Charles Schwab Financial. The Board approved the recommendation.

Administrators’ Report

Superintendent Allen discussed that A&D Electrical Supply has approached the district with an opportunity to upgrade lighting across the school district to be more energy efficient at minimal cost to the school district. The grant is through the Ameren Illinois Energy Efficiency Program and initial estimates project a 10-year savings of potentially $781,293.60.

Discussion took place among board members in reference to solar energy and exploring this as a possible energy source for the district in the future.

Allen also reported that the district office is currently reviewing all grant spending to ensure the district is on track with utilizing the funding as approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. Additionally, grants are being amended to account for rollover funds with plans of utilizing the funds for updating curriculum district wide and improving security and safety measures.

The principal reports were briefly discussed and both Elementary School Principal Rachel Davis and Junior High School Principal Ryan Pirok highlighted that at the most recent Teacher Institute Day in January, a keynote was provided by Dr. Joe Sanfelippo who presented on leadership to all teachers. His words were very encouraging and well received by all who attended. Davis also reported that the most recent benchmarking data on the STAR Assessment illustrated positive student academic growth across the elementary grade levels.

Committee Reports

During the committee reports, Dr. Poonam Jain, the chair of the building committee, reported that the committee had met earlier in January to discuss the church property. The district is still waiting on notification from the state of Illinois in reference to the Early Childhood Capital Development Board Grant that it had applied for earlier in the school year. Whether or not the district receives the grant funding will directly dictate the next steps for the church property.

Unfinished Business

The board conducted the second reading of PRESS Policy Issue 110. Clayton Green gave a brief synopsis of the 110 policy changes stating that nearly all the updates involved legal references and language adjustments. The board approved and adopted PRESS Policy 110 after the second reading.

New Business

Allen discussed that the School District had recently been awarded a Maintenance Grant from the state and within the grant, it was written to replace the current stair lift system in the high school building to make it wheelchair accessible. The project was bid and two companies submitted proposals for review. It was determined that Personal Mobility was the lowest responsible bidder and the board approved them to complete the wheelchair lift replacement project.

Action After Executive Session

Upon returning to open session, the board of education accepted and recognized the retirement of Bonnie Trettenero at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year with thanks for service. Additionally, the board accepted the resignation of Monica Hendricks as high school yearbook sponsor. Rick Gerhardt was approved to transition to a maintenance technician position once his custodial position has been filled. Next, the school board hired for multiple summer school positions including teachers, paraprofessionals, and an administrative assistant. The summer school program is funded using grant dollars. An unpaid leave of absence was approved for a member of the custodial staff. A Memorandum of Agreement was approved for the addition of a maintenance technician position to the custodial Collective Bargaining Agreement. Finally, the board conducted its semi-annual review of unreleased closed meeting minutes and it was determined that the Dec. 19, 2022, closed minutes can be made available for public inspection.