Dist. 289 students, staff settling into routines

Jennifer Sommer
Posted 9/27/18

MENDOTA – District 289 staff and students are settling back in to routines as the new school year is underway.

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Dist. 289 students, staff settling into routines

Posted

MENDOTA – District 289 staff and students are settling back in to routines as the new school year is underway.

Enrollment is 217 students at Blackstone School, 365 students at Lincoln School, and 528 students at Northbrook School including preschool students.

Staff spent one of the first two days of teacher institute learning about run, hide, fight tactics for school safety. A lockdown drill with students and the Mendota Police Department is scheduled this month. The district has been busy practicing state mandated drills - bus evacuation, fire, and severe weather, as well.

Sara Gehant, eighth grade social studies, and Brandon Scheppers, seventh grade social studies, gave a presentation to the board of education at the District 289 meeting, Sept. 20. Scheppers attended a conference on American Memory & 9/11 that helped him bring the topic to his classroom. For the second year, the teachers shared a cross-teaching unit on 9/11. The unit helped students learn the before, during, and after facts of that date in history.

Bill Newkirk of Newkirk & Associates gave the audit presentation. There were no findings during the audit. Title 1 and the National School Lunch Program were looked at in-depth. The district was in compliance of the requirements. "Our audit went extremely well. It's nice to know you're putting everything where it is supposed to be," stated Kristen School, district superintendent.

However, the district still stands at a $230,000 deficit. The Education Fund and Operations & Maintenance Fund are still the biggest draws. Salaries and benefits contribute to a half-million-dollar deficit. The district's total revenue is $12.4 with expenditures at $12.6.

Funds will have to be transferred into the Transportation Fund before the end of the year to cover costs, as well. "This is going to be a never-ending cycle of transferring funds. We just don't get that reimbursement back from the state," School said.

Currently the state owes the district $342,000 but School anticipates the payments to come in.

In action items, the FY 2019 budget was approved.

The Administrator/Teacher Salaries and Benefit Report was approved. The document can be found on their website at: https://www.m289.org/Home/public-news-info.

New hires included: Tim Staffeldt, Northbrook 7th grade boys basketball coach; Bill Hall, assistant boys track coach; Dawn Spriet, lunchroom supervisor at Blackstone; Sofia Komitas, four-hour kitchen position at Northbrook; and Lacey Full, part-time parent educator for the 0-3 program.

The board also set a building and grounds committee meeting for Oct. 4. Agenda items will include meeting with the district's architect to discuss buzzer and security items, cost and feasibility of air conditioning in the buildings and to seek direction of the track on Stroble Avenue.

The district will kick off its annual Club Choice fundraiser on Oct. 3 and conclude on Oct. 15. This is the district's largest fundraiser.

Looking ahead, District 289 will have four seats open in the April election. Mandy Ossman, Larry Sheaves, Theresa Komitas and Kristen Kain will seek re-election. All seats are four-year terms.

The next monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the District 289 Education Center.