Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)— According to Superintendent Joyce Carmine, attendance for School District 163 in the last year was extremely high. At the School District 163 School Board meeting on Monday, July 2, Carmine reported attendance for Mohawk was 95.31%, Beacon Hill 92.01%, Blackhawk 91.92%, Forest Trail 92.97%, Algonquin 92.75%, and 21st Century 88.76%.
School Board president, Virginia Ford, was concerned that not all schools attendance was over 90%.
“It could be the beginning of a trend,” voiced Ford, who urged the board to look into what maybe the cause.
The board also approved the hiring of 3 new teachers at 21st Century, 3 new teachers at Forest Trail, and 1 new teacher at Blackhawk, all effective August 21st, 2007, as well as the retirement of Sue O’Halloran, Special Education/Staffing Coordinator at Forest Trail Junior High School.
Accounts Payable for June was approved by all members for a total of $688,319.78 and for July $410,860.51. This included monies for education fund, maintenance, construction, transportation and tort.
Payroll was approved for the amount of $1,012,290.32.
Also approved by the board was the publication of bid specifications for 78 computer table sales at Forest Trail. The old computer tables and equipment will be going into teachers individual classrooms.
The Board also approved a change order for asbestos removal at 21st century for the amount of $12, 500 by Luse Company for additional work. The change was made, according to Virginia Ford, so there would be no worries at a later date.
In addition, the Superintendent is to prepare a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2008. The budget is currently near halfway complete.
According to Janette Kreuz, there are currently two bidders for Forest Trail’s yearbooks. The school board, however, is keeping their options open. Ford suggested checking into using CopyMax to possibly save money.
In construction news, the asbestos abatement at Forest Trail is near completion. The flooring is scheduled to be finished on July 11. The abatement at 21st Century is complete but plumbing work is still needed. Beacon Hill’s floor and installations are complete and the abatement should be finished July 11. Algonquin’s work is scheduled to be finished July 5 or 6.
