Illini West board approves faculty list

All high school teachers from Carthage and LaHarpe unit districts who want to teach at the new Illini West High School have a place on the staff.

The Illini West board approved a list of certified faculty to be hired for the new school at their meeting Wednesday, Feb. 28.

“The principals and counselors worked to get this information together, registered the students, and set the courses to be offered. They came up with a list of teachers we needed and matched that with the list of teachers wanting to come into Illini West,” stated interim superintendent, Harold Ford.

“The good thing is that there is no need for either district to RIF (dismiss due to reduction in force) anyone. Everyone who asked to be transferred has a position. At the same time, we realized we had some half-time positions that we can work in with the elementary districts. The amount of time we will need them, we are not ready to commit.”

In addition there are one or two more teachers the district will need to hire. Staff committed and or needed at Illini West from LaHarpe include Ann Logan, Colleen Enderlin, Patrick Raftis, Susan Holtsclaw, Samantha McGaughey, Melissa Sturlic, Barb Ramsey, Vicki Black, Jason Finch, Tim Lafferty, Judy Stevenson and Melvin Roth.

Staff transferring from Carthage High School to Illini West include Diana Bollin, Sam DeCounter, Jessica Gonyea, Zak Huston, Zach Keene, Rhonda Miller, Harold Northup, Theresa Twaddle, Carol Brooks, Connie Flesner, Greg Hoener, Kim Johnson, Peggy Latherow, Deb Murphy and Kevin Peel.

Additional part-time positions will be needed in the teaching areas of art, band and chorus, foreign language and industrial arts, and for staff in the areas of technology, counseling, psychologist, and social worker. This would include using Kelly Nagel, Linda Hartweg, Joe Dion, Marcia McGaughey, Michael Carson and Diane Pepple.

After approving three school management software programs at their last meeting, the board agreed with the recommendation of the technology committee to buy the server and hardware needed to operate the programs.

The board allowed Ford to spend up to $2,000 for technology matters, particularly entering student information into the new software, and completing the district's technology plan which must be filed by March 30

The first draft of a coaches' handbook drawn up by interim athletic director, Zak Huston, was reviewed, and suggestions were made to clarify procedures for coaches and administrators. The final draft will be presented for approval at a later meeting.

Ford noted that Huston had declined any stipend for his work as an interim athletic director, saying “many others are spending a lot of time on this as well.”

A group asked for and received permission from the board to create a sports booster club as an umbrella for all Illini West athletics. They will draw up a proposal for how the booster club would operate with the board.

Representatives include David Ard of the Carthage Sports Boosters; Kelly Lafferty of the Cyclone Co-op Boosters; Cindy Leake, a parent from Dallas City; and Lisa Trout, LaHarpe Junior High and high school volleyball boosters. Anyone interested in helping can contact one of these representatives.

The lease agreement for the use of the Carthage High School building is progressing, Ford said.

“We are at the point where we're ready to put ideas on paper,” said board member Robert Clifton.

The committee already working on the lease will continue to work on a proposal for how many portable classroom modules are needed and where they are located.

After deciding how many teachers and sections of classes were needed, it was determined that at least four and maybe six classrooms would be needed, probably in two-room units.

Ford reported on a meeting held for all taxing bodies affected by the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposal in Carthage.

“We have received a proposal from the city and are working on a counter proposal, to be sure that we're not losing large amounts of money on this TIF,” Ford said. “I don't think we are very far from an agreement. We've got to balance what works for the school and the city. We will have an agreement before the city adopts the TIF plan.”

Ford reported on the budget, saying he was much closer now that staff had been hired.

“You did a huge thing tonight to get a chunk of the budget expenses established. On the revenue side, I am down to four items that I cannot make good estimates on. The state assured me this week they'll get an ADA (Average Daily Attendance) estimate for us to use, based on numbers from the elementary districts.”

The board approved membership in the West Central Illinois Special Education Cooperative. At an earlier meeting the board approved membership in the West Prairie Trail Conference for football, and the Western Area Career System. The board will meet in executive session on March 10 to discuss personnel. The next staff decisions include support staff, a principal and hiring head coaches.