Chenoa’s mayor appeared before members of the Prairie Central Board of Education at the regular June meeting in support of keeping a school in that town.
David Shane read a letter signed by himself along with city commissioners Zack Lopeman, Bev Pickett, J.E. Myers and Manny Hernandez.
“The Chenoa City Council wishes to submit a unified declaration that is in unanimous support of the Prairie Central School District maintaining an attendance center in Chenoa,” the letter states. “We are in hopes you understand the legitimate concerns by our residents and particularly business owners who depend on community support.”
The letter says if Prairie Central Primary West were to close, they are inclined to believe the statistic of Chenoa having the second most number of students in the district would rapidly change as nearby communities would attract more families, residents and businesses.
“Please understand this is not a nostalgic attempt to rescue CHS,” Mayor Shane explained.
“Most of our residents did not attend Chenoa High School so the heartfelt connection to the building is really no longer there. The valid worry is what will Chenoa look like in 5, 10 or 15 years if there is no school.”
Shane said he had 617 signatures from people in Chenoa and the surrounding area passionate about keeping the community’s school open.
Prior to Thursday’s regular school board meeting in the high school library, a public hearing was held to transfer funds for the drainage project and paving of the high school parking lot. These two projects are part of the ag and IT addition at the school.
“We did budget money for that transfer,” noted Prairie Central Superintendent Paula Crane.
Some in attendance had questions about the project.
“What are long-term projects for Primary West (in Chenoa)?” asked Mayor Shane.
Board member Brad Duncan reminded the audience this particular project started a long time ago before the facilities study even started.
Questions were raised from some in attendance about the tort fund. Crane said tort is used to keep the district out of legal trouble and covers items like supervisors, insurance, legal fees and part of her superintendent salary.
“It took seven years to figure out how to solve the problem,” stated Board President John Wilken, referring to the parking lot.
The board approved a contract with the Illinois Association of School Boards for $8,400 for a superintendent search as Crane previously announced her upcoming retirement. IASB Executive Search Consultant Vic Zimmerman, a retired superintendent from Monticello, presented information to the board on the search process.
Zimmerman said while they do a majority of the searches in Illinois, there are other search firms out there.
“We are not-for-profit,” he explained. “The other firms are for-profit.”
Zimmerman expects the board to hire a superintendent from Illinois, but they do tend to get national responses.
“The superintendent is the one employee you hire then you allow the superintendent to run the school district.”
The search would end Nov. 21 which is when the district is expected to hire the next superintendent. A new person will need to be in place by next July 1 and IASB will administer an online survey to gather feedback on the characteristics people are interested in seeing.
“We are going to bring to you up to six candidates in the first round,” added Zimmerman.
Zimmerman will attend the July 18 meeting when the board will approve the announcement of vacancy before the position is posted for July, August and September. A slate of candidates will be brought in to interview during a special meeting in October.
“We work for you, we are not working for the candidates,” Zimmerman reminded the board. “Our retention rate is over 95 percent.”
During her superintendent report, Crane revealed they received a Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grant for 2024-25. The amount is not known but is expected to be the same as this year which is $210,822. She also noted the Ag and IT addition at the high school is on track and a community open house is likely in early August.
The PACT Committee will meet Monday night to receive a report compiled from the four community meetings and the recent community survey. That same report will be presented to the board during a special meeting Tuesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. Damien Schlitt of BLDD Architects will make the presentation. Several special board meetings are planned on July 1, 9, 11, 15 and 16 to discuss the future of facilities in the district.
Under old business, the board approved the resolution to transfer money from the tort fund to operations and maintenance to fund the drainage and parking lot project at the high school.
In new business, membership was renewed with the Illinois Association of School Boards. This is done each year and benefits board members through professional development and support.
Board committees were approved for FY25.
Superintendent Crane was authorized to prepare a budget for the next fiscal year to be presented in draft form at the regular July 18 meeting.
Policy changes were reviewed by IASB, although no significant changes are recommended. Policies will be revisited and voted on for adoption at the July meeting.
The purchase of a minivan was approved not to exceed $30,000 to replace one of the district’s current vans that needs to be retired.
Following an executive session, the board:
Approved the following individuals for employment:
Joshua Clemons, HS social studies teacher, effective 24-25 school year.
Joshua Clemons, assistant football coach, effective 24-25 school year only.
Jeana Forsyth, junior class sponsor, effective 24-25 school year.
Matt Kerns, co-sophomore football coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Jacob Connor, co-sophomore football coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Dalton Reed, varsity assistant football coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Miranda Reynolds, HS English teacher, effective 24-25 school year.
Beth Carrion, 1st grade teacher leader (3-year term), effective 24-25 school year.
Katie Taylor, 6th grade teacher leader (3-year term), effective 24-25 school year.
Josh Creek, HS head softball coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Joel King, freshman boys’ basketball coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Kelli Castillo, PCP West café worker, effective 24-25 school year.
Alan Dunahee, auxiliary football coach, effective 24-25 school year.
Approved the following resignations:
Amber Carls, HS English teacher, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Deanna DeLong, PCE special ed teacher, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Jose Tellez, HS Spanish teacher, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Brittany Marti, PCP West paraprofessional, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Martha Schaffer, PCP West paraprofessional, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Will Tatro, HS cross country coach, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Ashley Zimmerman, PCP West paraprofessional, effective end of 23-24 school year.
Approved the following transfers, effective the 2024-25 school year:
Emily Miller, paraprofessional, from PCJH to PCUE.
Approved the reinstatement of extended contracts for the Agriculture and IT teaching positions to 20 days beginning the 2024-25 school year.
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