The Morton District 709 school board is picking up the pace on determining how input from a community committee and survey of residents should impact construction and renovation plans throughout the district.
At the board’s April 20 meeting, Superintendent Roger Kilpatrick presented two possible timelines for presenting information regarding the possibility of placing a referendum on either the Nov. 2 or April 5, 2011, ballot.
Board president Tom Neeley said the board must do what is best, educationally, for the students of the district.
“We’re going to have to make some tough decisions and not everybody is going to be pleased with it,” Neeley said.
He said the next step is to reconvene community members and see what they are willing to do to help the district because it is important to have the whole community behind the project.
Kilpatrick said that based on the results from the committee and survey, it has been determined that changes need to be made in the district’s elementary schools first. Changes to the junior high or high school will be made in phase two.
“Three of the elementaries need to be expanded,” Kilpatrick said. “Whether we keep a Jefferson or don’t keep a Jefferson, we need to make expansions on the other three elementaries, both infrastructure-wise and space-wise.
“What we need to do is try to build as much flexibility in the future as possible,” said Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick said he will give his recommendation on both phase one and two of the plan in an upcoming meeting.
“Nothing is off the table at this point,” he said.
“We will be discussing this again at our first meeting in May and no doubt at our second meeting in May,” Neeley said.
“This starts the engine,” Kilpatrick added.
In other action and discussion during the meeting, the board:
• discussed drug and alcohol survey results from the Illinois Youth Survey, which is given every two years to high school students.
Morton High School principal Dennis Johnson presented a summary of the survey.
“The trend has not increased or decreased much in most cases,” Johnson said.
He said marijuana use in 10th graders has shown a slight increase and that students are beginning to use drugs at an earlier age.
• approved the APEX summer school program, which will provide remedial classes for about 20 students
• approved the rehire of Sandra Cross to part-time social worker at Morton Junior High effective for the 2010-11 school year
