The Examiner U-46 News Feed
Proposals set for vote at next Dist. U-46 meeting
By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 will vote on four expenditure proposals totaling $333,161 at its upcoming meeting on Monday, Dec. 18. The items were presented on Monday, Dec. 4.
One proposal is for resources totaling $91,658 for two Advanced Placement courses, AP U.S. Government and Politics and AP Human Geography.
According the proposal, the “curriculum and exam has been revised by College Board” for the AP U.S. Government and Politics course and current resources for AP Human Geography “were purchased prior to the 2015 course revision.”
If approved, the updates would take effect in the fall 2018.
Pearson’s “American Government: Roots and Reform” textbook was selected for AP U.S. Government and Politics and will cost $70,859 for 525 students. Pearson’s “The Cultural Landscape: Introduction to Human Geography” was chosen for AP Human Geography and costs $20,799 for 142 students.
The College Board controls AP curriculum, and board member Sue Kerr asked if it has a schedule for when revisions are made to courses. Robin Lenart, K-12 social studies coordinator, said it does and the schedule is published on the College Board’s website.
There were two proposals presented for professional development, $55,900 with the AVID Center and another with Dale Carnegie Training costing $66,000. Both would come out of the education fund, if approved.
If approved, the professional development for Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) staff would take place over two days in June at South Elgin High School. Prior to hosting, staff would have to travel for the AVID professional development.
The cost would be $430 per participant, up from $420 last year, and there are 130 expected participants from U-46. It’s a “significant reduction from past expenses when teachers would travel out of state” according to the proposal.
Last year U-46 hosted the professional development and opened it up to other districts, and Ron Raglin, assistant superintendent, said 120 additional participants attended last year and “well over 50 other districts” have expressed interest in attending this coming year.
Board member Traci Ellis asked if the professional development will include similar strands from last year including the “cultural competency strands,” and Raglin said “absolutely.”
Those strands have been controversial as they promote group-think and collectivism like the Culturally Relevant Teaching explained in the proposal whish states it will teach staff to “conduct a self-examination and address issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and accountability through a growth mindset. The strand will provide a framework of effective methodologies that validate the culture of all students in the classroom and on the campus.”
The professional development from Dale Carnegie Training will cost $1,320 a person for 50 members of the district’s operational staff and includes, according to the proposal, “3.5 hours every other week for approximately seven weeks. For the operations management team the training will span for 3.5 hours over an eight week time period.”
U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said “on the operational side of the house there’s not been a lot of ongoing, imbedded professional development,” and Jeff King, chief operations officer, said “they’ve had access, but they’ve had to do it” on their own.
Board member Phil Costello asked if this would be an ongoing expense in future budgets to which King said “I guess I’ll have to reserve and say maybe.” Costello said “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” but he wants to make sure there are specific outcomes to look for in order to know if there’s a value in future years.
The final proposal of $119,603 with TransChicago Truck Group, out of the education fund, if approved, is to replace a 2004 refrigerated truck the district says has 116,688 miles and 2,765 refrigerator hours and currently has a $5,000 value. According to the proposal, the district’s current truck has had $20,141 in repairs over the previous eight years.
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