PAW PAW – The Indian Creek High School Board welcomed interested parties to attend a special meeting to discuss the feasibility of accepting high school students from Paw Paw into Indian Creek High School, March 13.

Chad Willis, superintendent of District 425 compared statistics of the two high schools – current enrollments of each grade, projected enrollments for the next four years, the Per Capita Tuition Charge each district currently charges for out-of-district students ($13,682 for Paw Paw; $11,974 for Indian Creek), the annual financial reports for each district for the past nine years, demographics for each district, and test scores.

It was explained that if Paw Paw wishes its students to attend Indian Creek, the Paw Paw district would be responsible for the out-of-district tuition, and cost of transportation of the students.

The combining of attendees would benefit students from both schools, in offering more class variety, such as ag, shop, additional science classes, expanded foreign language, additional AP or dual credit classes. Currently there are so few students enrolled in Indian Creek choir, creative writing, physics, band, art, accounting, theater and world history, that it may not be cost-efficient to continue those classes. With the influx of Paw Paw students interested in those classes, they would continue to be offered and would even hope to expand curriculum offerings.

There are currently seven agreements between schools in the State of Illinois where one school district is paying tuition to another school district to send its entire student body to another school. One such agreement, in the Warsaw-Nauvoo towns, sends the Warsaw 7th and 8th grade students to Nauvoo, and the Nauvoo high school students to the Warsaw school.

The timeline for potential Paw Paw High School deactivation (FY 19-20) would require both school boards to agree to pass resolutions to that effect by July/August of this year.

A referendum for the Paw Paw school district residents to vote on the issue must be submitted to the Lee County Clerk by Aug. 17 in order to be on the Nov. 6 ballot. The combination can only go forward if the majority of votes cast by the Paw Paw district voters on Nov. 6 are in favor of deactivation.

Indian Creek school board must then pass a resolution indicating they would accept Paw Paw students if a mutually agreeable contract can be reached. Various significant items in the contract are subject to negotiation, including the tuition.

The final step would be to enter into a two year contract providing for the reassignment of Paw Paw High School students to Indian Creek for an agreed upon amount (the Per Capita Tuition Charge), which must be approved by both the Indian Creek and Paw Paw Boards of Education. If all the above is accomplished, Paw Paw high school students would begin attending Indian Creek High School for the 2019-2020 school year.

The floor was then opened for questions and discussions. Approximately an equal number of those present were from Paw Paw and the Indian Creek school districts.

Further information may be on the Indian Creek website:http://www.indiancreekschools.org

The Paw Paw School Board meets the third Monday of each month. All taxpayers and interested parties are invited to attend.