SHS to expand CTE program

The Staunton CUSD #6 Board of Education met on Monday, Oct. 17, in the unit library for the monthly meeting. The board discussed the Ma- coupin/Montgomery Counties Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center. The center will be located in Litchfield and

open to students soon. Staunton has been invited to

serve on the governing board of the CTE center, at no cost, and with the opportunity to leave any time. It was mentioned that Staunton already has a very robust CTE program, but Superintendent Brett Allen replied that this would be an excellent opportunity for stu- dents, especially those who are interested in carpentry. These students would be placed in an apprenticeship program which they are likely to finish before graduating high school. It is noted that students will need to complete some foundation skills classes before being ac- cepted at the CTE center.

The board moved to join the governing board and expand CTE training to the students of Staunton.

In other business, members of the junior high baseball team were honored for their outstand- ing performance during the fall season.

The cast of the Homecoming Play was also honored for their hard work to pull together a longer comedic show than last year. The show was widely at- tended and thoroughly enjoyed.

Superintendent Allen an- nounced recent donations made to the district.

The local band union do- nated $5,000 to start a yearly music scholarship of $500 to be awarded to a graduating senior. A donation was made in honor of Del Stiegemeier to build handrails in the gym. A memorial donation of $2,500 was made to the choir and drama club on behalf of Terry Mosser. Concordia Hall do- nated $1,000 to the athletic program. And a recent donation from the Tori Carroll Memorial Run of $15,000 will be used to improve the multipurpose room and gym floor.

In Superintendent Allen's report, he announced that repairs and resurfacing of the track will take place in the next month or so.

School improvement plans are being updated, and the Illi- nois School report cards will be released at the end of October. Allen expects Staunton schools will receive a good rating.

It was also announced that Poonam Jain, Dave Lamore, Dori Rhodes, Superintendent Allen, and educational service coordinator Michael Kelly will be attending the Triple I conference, which is a joint meeting of school board members and district ad- ministration throughout the state of Illinois.

It was also noted that the ad- ministration has attended many school events recently, and the community has expressed their approval for having such a highly involved administrative team.

The next item of discussion was on having a student board of education advisory member. The previous process for selecting a student to the board required nomination by a teacher. Green rejected this idea, to an extent, because he believed that in order for the advisory member to give a voice to the students, he or she should be elected by the students.

The tentative requirements were established as follows:

• High school junior or senior,

• 3.0 GPA plus participation in one extracurricular activity,

• Must obtain 25 signatures to run,

• Candidates will be voted on by the entire student body.

A more firm set of requirements

will be issued in November.

The board then welcomed transportation supervisor Steve Worley to speak on the purchas- ing of new buses for the district fleet. Worley recommended the purchase of a small bus with wheelchair accessibility, and two standard buses without air con- ditioning. The board moved to approve his suggestion. Retiring buses will be declared as surplus and/or disabled according to EPA

requirements.

The board then approved a mo-

tion to participate in the Illinois School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus managed by PMA Financial. Each month's surplus money will be invested in low-risk short-term CDs.

Following closed session, the board took action on the follow- ing items: The resignations of Matt Larsen, head soccer coach, and Ed Hirschl, assistant soccer coach, were accepted with thanks for service. Andrea Kuna was hired as the transportation depart- ment secretary. The employment of Tonya Newby as a special edu- cation resource paraprofessional was approved.

Board members present at the meeting were Dori Rhodes, Poo- nam Jain, Clayton Green, Brad Best, and Dave Lamore. Stefanie Legendre arrived late, and John Renner was absent. Also pres- ent were Superintendent Allen, educational service coordinator Michael Kelly.