The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Vocational system IGA slated for U-46 board vote

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 is set to vote on an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) related to the Northern Kane County Regional Vocational System at its upcoming meeting on Monday, Jan. 9.
  The IGA was presented on Dec. 15, 2022. It is between four school districts including U-46 and community unit school districts 300 (Carpentersville), 301 (Burlington) and 303 (St. Charles).
  The districts can “offer shared career and technical education (CTE) programs,” the IGA states, and “the members of these districts would receive a wider variety of programs and more efficient services.”
  The purpose, according to the IGA: “The purpose of the System shall be to allow for programmatic alignment and continuity of career and technical offerings among secondary and postsecondary institutions; cooperation in shared use of facilities, equipment and personnel (where possible and desirable), cooperative efforts in continuous planning, evaluation, and improvement of programs.”
  The IGA lists D301 as the administrative district.
  Suzanne Johnson, U-46’s deputy superintendent of instruction, said that “we’ve specified some pieces” with adding Sections 3.1.1 (recruitment, retention and interventions) and 3.2.1 (completion of the Perkins V needs assessment) as well as adding language to Sections 3.2 (program management) and 5.4 (distribution of income).
  Section 3.1.1 states the program is “open to all students within member districts) and “recruitment and retention of students will be a function of member districts for stand-alone CTE programs and in collaboration with the System Director and participating member districts for regional programs.” Enrollment will be reviewed annually.
  Section 3.2.1 states that the districts “are required to complete a Local Needs Assessment (LNA) of their CTE programs, in addition to partnering with the System Director and the local community college to complete a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) for all Career and Technical Education programs within the region.”
  Added to Section 3.2: “The Administrative Board and System Director shall review the effectiveness of each program/course using the Perkins V/State of Illinois CTE data metrics as part of the CLNA process. Districts will then be responsible for making changes or improvements to programs based on these reviews.”
  Added to Section 5.4: “All funds are initially allocated to districts based on the percentage of Perkins funds received.”