MENDOTA – When Paw Paw voters go to the polls on Nov. 6, the question of whether or not to deactivate their high school will be on the ballot. If approved by a majority of voters, the deactivation would begin with the 2019-20 school year and the high school students would then have to attend school in another district. Mendota High School wants the Paw Paw community to know their students are welcome at MHS.

But Paw Paw also has an offer from Indian Creek High School in Shabbona, which would cost the Paw Paw district $10,500 per student plus an approximate $150,000 extra for transportation. That offer was made in time to be placed on the November ballot along with the question of deactivation.

Last month, MHS Superintendent Jeff Prusator told the District 280 board that when the Paw Paw school board learned of the high cost presented by Indian Creek, they contacted him to see what Mendota would propose. After weighing all the factors, Prusator said he was comfortable making a much lower offer of $6,000 per student and not charging extra for transportation.

Even though it was too late by then to get the proposal on the ballot, the MHS board decided last month to go ahead and formulate an official offer for Paw Paw. If a majority of Paw Paw voters reject the Indian Creek offer in November, MHS will be able to get its proposal on the ballot next spring.

As Prusator explained at last month’s board meeting, MHS has plenty of space to easily absorb the roughly 60 Paw Paw students and would not have to hire additional staff. In addition, MHS would not charge extra for transportation because Paw Paw and Mendota have a bus route that runs very close in some areas.

“If Paw Paw runs their bus routes for elementary students and they can drop the high school students off at the school, we would pick them up there in the morning and drop them off after school,” Prusator said. “If that was feasible, we would not need to charge them for transportation since our bus route is so close to theirs.”

Reporting at the Sept. 19 board meeting, Prusator said using feedback he received from the MHS board over the past several weeks, he compiled a list of items that will be included in the official proposal to the Paw Paw school board. The list includes:

• $6,000 per student per year for the next two consecutive school years.
• MHS will provide transportation to and from Paw Paw School (before school and after the regular school day). Any other transportation needs would be the responsibility of the Paw Paw School District (i.e. before and after school practices, Area Career Center, etc.).
• Paw Paw students would have full access to all MHS curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
• Tuition cost for any IEP students placed in the regular special education curriculum would be $6,000 per student.
• Any one-to-one paraprofessional that is required by an IEP would be the responsibility of the Paw Paw School District.
• Any IEP student who is placed per their IEP outside of Mendota High School would be the financial responsibility of the Paw Paw School District.
• Paw Paw Board of Education will be allowed to have one board member attend MHS board meetings and serve in an advisory role. Paw Paw community will be allowed to have a representative on various MHS committees.
• It will be the goal of future Mendota boards of education to not increase the tuition rate any greater than 3 percent in any one year.

Prusator explained the reason for a two-year agreement is that deactivation of a school can only be approved for two years at a time and then has to be renewed.

In addition to the above list, Prusator said he will send a binder with all the curriculum and extracurricular offerings at MHS, pictures of the facility and the last three years of financial reports.

Following discussion, the board voted unanimously to send the proposal.

BUDGET HEARING

Prusator said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the FY19 budget, which shows an overall surplus of about $180,000, mostly in the Education Fund. “The additional funds from the Evidence-Based Funding certainly helped Mendota High School last year and also in the current fiscal year,” he noted.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Principal Denise Aughenbaugh reported on Homecoming week activities, which took place Sept. 16-22. The week kicked off Sunday afternoon when the MHS Booster Club sponsored window painting at downtown businesses done by the high school’s athletic teams. That was followed on Monday when members of the Homecoming court were announced during an outdoor assembly held in the stadium. Friday’s pep rally took place in the gym followed by the parade downtown at 3 p.m. and the football game versus Dixon that evening. The final event, the Homecoming Dance was held on Saturday from 8-11 p.m.

Aughenbaugh expressed her appreciation to Sullivan’s Foods for allowing students to stage the parade floats in the store parking lot, making for a much safer environment. She also thanked the City of Mendota for allowing them to use Strouss Park and the pool parking lot for parade staging.

Aughenbaugh issued a safety reminder to adult fans and parents who bring elementary and middle school aged students to football games. She emphasized that it is not safe for children to play unsupervised in the grassy area behind the visitor stands. “It is very unsafe for children to be in these dark areas when cars are driving in and out of the game,” she explained. “We ask for the cooperation of adults to please supervise all children they bring to MHS athletic events to avoid injuries, vandalism and potential fights.”

Active shooter training

On Sept. 19, a staff in-service training was held to provide information on updates to the Crisis Manual. The changes correspond to the new “Run-Hide-Fight” Active Shooter training staff received from the Mendota Police Department. Aughenbaugh said parents should expect an e-mail informing them about an upcoming Active Shooter Training for students. The student training will be scheduled in the next couple weeks. “It’s not a subject we want to talk about but it is one that unfortunately, in today’s environment, we have to,” she said.

Prusator noted that along with scheduled fire drills and tornado drills, the high school will now do yearly active shooter drills. “We’ve had some rather in-depth training from our police department for staff and now will follow through with students,” he said. “They will know that if something does happen, this what we’re trained to do. It’s part of the society we live in now.” 

On Oct. 5, Mendota High School will be one of four host sites for the La Salle County Teacher Institute day. MHS will host speaker Tim Ryan, who will share his journey from sampling drugs as a youngster to being imprisoned, and ultimately losing his son to addiction as a father. He will also share strategies and tips for educators to recognize at-risk youth.

Scheduled events

Wednesday, Sept. 26 - The curriculum committee will hold their first meeting of the school year at 7:15 a.m. Aughenbaugh thanked board member Jim Sundberg for serving on the committee as board representative.

Friday, Sept. 28 - Counselors will provide the sophomore/junior parent breakfast in the media center at 8:05 a.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 3- MHS Booster Club will meet at 7 p.m. in the media center. Everyone is welcome.

Friday, Oct. 5 & Monday, Oct. 8 - No school.

OTHER BUSINESS

• The FY19 budget was approved.
• Prusator gave an update on Enhancing the Athletic Experience “Margin of Excellence.” He said they compiled a survey, based on feedback from student athletes, on attributes they would like to see from their athletic experience. The survey will be sent to students in all sports 80 percent of the way through the year. With that information, they will be able to work on areas that have lower scores. “I think it’s a process that each year can get better and better,” he said. “A lot of time and energy has gone into the process up to this point and we will continue to do so.”
• The terms of board members, David May, Jason Stewart and Matt Hanaman will expire next spring. All three seats are for four-year terms. Petitions to run for the board in the April 2019 election are available at MHS.

The next regular board meeting will take place at the high school on Monday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.